This book explores the importance of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in biomedical research. As SNP technologies have evolved from labor intensive, expensive, time-consuming processes to relatively inexpensive methods, SNP discovery has exploded. In terms of human biology, this research, particularly since the completion of the Human Genome Project, has provided a detailed understanding of evolutionary forces that have generated SNPs. It also has shown how SNPs shape human variation...

Medicinal chemistry is both science and art. The science of medicinal chemistry offers mankind one of its best hopes for improving the quality of life. The art of medicinal chemistry continues to challenge its practitioners with the need for both intuition and experience to discover new drugs. Hence sharing the experience of drug research is uniquely beneficial to the field of medicinal chemistry. Drug research requires interdisciplinary team-work at the interface between chemistry, biolog...

This book comprehensively covers the mechanisms of action and inhibitor design for HIV-1 integrase. It serves as a resource for scientists facing challenging drug design issues and researchers in antiviral drug discovery. Despite numerous review articles and isolated book chapters dealing with HIV-1 integrase, there has not been a single source for those working to devise anti-AIDS drugs against this promising target. But this book fills that gap and offers a valuable introduction to the f...

Big data, genomics, and quantitative approaches to network-based analysis are combining to advance the frontiers of medicine as never before. Network Medicine introduces this rapidly evolving field of medical research, which promises to revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. With contributions from leading experts that highlight the necessity of a team-based approach in network medicine, this definitive volume provides readers with a state-of-the-art synthesi...

The Handbook of Cell Signaling is a comprehensive work covering all aspects of intracellular signal processing, including extra/intracellular membrane receptors, signal transduction, gene expression/translation, and cellular/organotypic signal responses. The subject matter has been divided into five main parts (each of which is headed by a recognized expert in the field):* Initiation: Extracellular and Membrane Events* Transmission: Effectors and Cytosolic Events * Nuclear Responses: Gene ...

Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype, caused by mechanisms other than changes in the DNA sequence. Examples include DNA methylation and histone modification. These changes may remain through cell divisions and multiple generations. Epigenetic differences among individuals may account for some of the differences between monozygotic (identical) twins. Aberrant DNA methylation is also frequently associated with human aging and diseases, such a...

Epigenetics is a term in biology referring to heritable traits that do not involve changes in the underlying DNA sequence of the organism. Epigenetic traits exist on top of or in addition to the traditional molecular basis for inheritance. The "epigenome" is a parallel to the word "genome," and refers to the overall epigenetic state of a cell. Cancer and stem cell research have gradually focused attention on these genome modifications. The molecular basis of epigenetics involves modificati...

The ultimate source of information on the design of new anticancer agents, emphasizing small molecules, this newest work covers recent notable successes resulting from the human genome and cancer genomics projects. These advances have provided information on targets involved in specific cancers that are leading to effective medicines for at least some of the common solid tumors. Unique sections explain the basic underlying principles of cancer drug development and provide a practical intro...

New insights into the evolution and nature of proteinsExploring several distinct approaches, this book describes the methods for comparing protein sequences and protein structures in order to identify homologous relationships and classify proteins and protein domains into evolutionary families. Readers will discover the common features as well as the key philosophical differences underlying the major protein classification systems, including Pfam, Panther, SCOP, and CATH. Moreover,...

This book provides readers with new paradigms on the mutation discovery in the post-genome era. The completion of human and other genome sequencing, along with other new technologies, such as mutation analysis and microarray, has dramatically accelerated the progress in positional cloning of genes from mutated models. In 2002, the Mouse Genome Sequencing Consortium stated that “The availability of an annotated mouse genome sequence now provides the most efficient tool yet in the gene hunte...

Clinical DNA Variant Interpretation: Theory and Practice, a new volume in the Translational and Applied Genomics series, covers foundational aspects, modes of analysis, technology, disease and disorder specific case studies, and clinical integration. This book provides a deep theoretical background, as well as applied case studies and methodology, enabling researchers, clinicians and healthcare providers to effectively classify DNA variants associated with disease and patient phenotypes. P...

Edited by two renowned medicinal chemists who have pioneered the development of personalized therapies in their respective fields, this authoritative analysis of what is already possible is the first of its kind, and the only one to focus on drug development issues.Numerous case studies from the first generation of "personalized drugs" are presented, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for pharmaceutical development. While the majority of these examples are taken from the...