Cyanobacterial Biotechnology


Book Description

This volume comprises select papers presented at a symposium held in September, 1996 in India. The contributors used the forum to disseminate their research findings.







Development of a System for Fast Identification and Characterization of Biological Cells


Book Description

Bio Impedance Spectroscopy (BIS) is the application of a signal with varying frequency to a biological material and measuring its frequency response. This research explores BIS to distinguish cancer and healthy cells and tissues, and also metastatic from non-metastatic cancers. The first important finding is one physical characteristic that distinguishes metastatic from non-metastatic cancer cells: the cell surface charge. For all researched cancer groups the cell surface charge per area was found to be smaller for more metastatic cancers than for less metastatic ones. Another finding was that cancer tissues in general have a lower impedance magnitude than healthy ones. An important conclusion is that healthy and cancer tissues and cells show a different spectral behavior, which is close correlated to the effects of the cancer in the healthy cells and tissues.




Microtubules: in vivo


Book Description

Microtubules: in vivo includes chapters by experts around the world on many aspects of microtubule imaging in living and fixed cells; assays to study microtubule function in a wide array of model organisms and cultured cells; high resolution approaches to study of the cytoskeleton. The authors share their years of experience, outlining potential pitfalls and critical factors to consider in experimental design, experimental implementation and data interpretation. - Includes chapters by experts around the world on many aspects of microtubule imaging in living and fixed cells; assays to study microtubule function in a wide array of model organisms and cultured cells; high resolution approaches to study of the cytoskeleton - The authors share their years of experience, outlining potential pitfalls and critical factors to consider in experimental design, experimental implementation and data interpretation







Rapid Methods for Analysis of Biological Materials in the Environment


Book Description

Contrary to common belief, infectious diseases are not as well under control as we would like. We are now at a crossroads regarding the impact of the environment on infectious diseases. Renewed interest in biological weapons and the emergence of new pathogens, coupled with a better understanding of the impact of infectious agents on other conventional diseases, has led us to realise that we can no longer remain complacent about the impact of infectious agents on human, animal and crop health. The present book first discusses current and emerging military and civilian policies on the environment. In addition, the impact of environmental biology on the future of space exploration is discussed, especially in reference to the Mars mission. There follows a discussion of the state of bacteria in the environment, with a presentation of current and emerging techniques of microbial investigation. Finally, two case studies are presented on the impact of these techniques on both political and environmental problems.










Vibrational Spectroscopy in Diagnosis and Screening


Book Description

In recent years there has been a tremendous growth in the use of vibrational spectroscopic methods for diagnosis and screening. These applications range from diagnosis of disease states in humans, such as cancer, to rapid identification and screening of microorganisms. The growth in such types of studies has been possible thanks to advances in instrumentation and associated computational and mathematical tools for data processing and analysis. This volume of Advances in Biomedical Spectroscopy contains chapters from leading experts who discuss the latest advances in the application of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Near infrared (NIR), Terahertz and Raman spectroscopy for diagnosis and screening in fields ranging from medicine, dentistry, forensics and aquatic science. Many of the chapters provide information on sample preparation, data acquisition and data interpretation that would be particularly valuable for new users of these techniques including established scientists and graduate students in both academia and industry.




The Role of New Technologies in Medical Microbiological Research and Diagnosis


Book Description

This e-book provides a comprehensive overview of state of the art applications of biomolecular techniques that are currently used, or are in development in the field of microbiological diagnostics research. In this respect, the topics covered include, genomics, proteomics, immunologics, biosensors, microarrays and nano-culture technologies. The broad range of techniques covered by the book will be invaluable to readers from professions allied to (but not exclusive to) microbiology analysts and researchers, laboratory technicians, (medical) microbiologists, molecular biologists, analytical phys.