MISCELLANEA

of information on the molecular biology of the molecules, but with rather limited relationship to func- tion. These chapters are difficult to read and provide very little appreci- ation of the biological importance of these molecules in the mechanisms of reproduction.

Concealed amongst the lists are a few gems of scientific writing, which almost make the purchase of the book worthwhile. Gosden and West have contributed a detailed and interesting chapter on the prospects for preimplantation diagnosis, while Latimer and Pederson provide an informative account of the principles of embryonic development around implantation; unfortunately, the lat- ter chapter ends with yet another featureless list of genes. There are also elegant accounts of M~illerian

inhibitory substance (Cate and Wilson), gonadotropin.releasing hor- mone (Bond and Adelman) and pituitary gonadotropin regulation (Miller). Each of these chapters pro- vides the reader with a solid, function. related introduction to the molecular basis of these research areas.

Some extremely topical areas of reproductive research are notable by their absence from the book. Sex determination is a field in which great strides have been made in recent years 1, yet this subject is not included. Similarly, the area of matemo-embryonic interactions dur- ing implantation has seen exciting developments recenUy z. Both of these topics would have been valu- able additions. Uke most multi- author works, this book suffers from a lack of uniformity of approach and

a variable quality of writing. The preface states that the authors were asked to emphasize modern mol- ecular biological developments in their field. This has led some authors to contribute interesting chapters that stress the relevance o f gene activity to specific reproductive func- tions, but in other cases the treat- ment of the molecular biology has obscured the reproductive mech- anisms. Balancing the genes and their functions is a difficult task and Genes in Mammalian Reproduction is only partially successful in this respect.

References 1 LOVELL-BADGE, R. (1993) Phil. Trans. R.

Sac. London Set. B 339,159-164 2 STEWART, C. L. et al. (1992) Nature 359,

76-79

Andrew I. Copp

Developmental Biology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University of London, 30 Guilford Street, London, UK WC1N 1EH.

Another turn of the whee|

Preparative Centrifugation: A Practical Approach

edited by D. Rickwood, IRL Press at OUP, 1992. £25.00 (xviii + 399

pages) ISBN 0 19 963211 1

Although this book appears as a new title in the 'practical approach' series, it is really a third edition of the existing title Centrifugation: A Practical Approach. The previous editions are standard texts for any lab- oratory using centrifuge~ extensively, and I expect this new edition will continue to fill that niche. But is a new edition necessary? It would be fair to ask 'what has changed in this field in the ten years since the publi- cation of the second edition?' and the answer would appear to be 'very little'; there have been no changes to the theory of centrifugation, and the changes to the equipment avail- able have been largely cosmetic or for user convenience rather than for extending the scope of what can be achieved with this methodology. However, while the driving force for a new version clearly was not the mass of new material demanding inclusion, the rewriting and reorgan-

ization of the text have made some significant improvements, which are to be welcomed. The opening chap- ters, which deal with the theoretical aspects and then the practical choices of hardware and how to use it, are very clearly written, and specific information is easy to find. Duplication is a common problem with multi-authored books, as more than one chapter may call for an explanation of a particular problem. While the editor has kept this to a minimum, it is at the expense of some anomalies; the most glaring is that the chapter on how to select, use and care for rotors and tubes does not contain the tips and warn- ings about speed limits and filling conditions: these are to be found in the next chapter!

Given the change in the title, I was expecting a greater shift in emphasis towards specific preparative proto- cols. In fact, coverage here has been limited to three chapters, one each for molecules, organelles and cells. The chapter on cells is changed only by the addition of a protocol for the separation of blood cells, including data on the commercially available products that can now make this a foolproof one-step process. The other two chapters have been com- pletely rewritten. Centrifugation of macromolecules now includes de- tailed protocols that would allow a beginner to get started straight away, but otherwise covers little new ground. The bulk of the new material is in the chapter on sub-

cellular organelles. This has been expanded from a description of how to homogenize and crudely fraction- ate rat liver, to include some of the methodologies for homogenization of other tissues and cultured cells, and details of how to adapt them to individual systems. The section on fractionation techniques has also been updated, and includes not only the more refined separations achiev- able by compounding centrifugation runs, but also the elegant manipu- lations of the densities of specific organelles that allow their purifi- cation from a mass of other, pre- viously indistinguishable organelles. In addition, there is a discussion of marker enzymes and their specifi- cities, and of the newer immuno- logical markers that are allowing ever more refined analysis of intracellular compartments. Unfortunately, all of this is crammed into a single chapter and as a result reads somewhat tele- graphically. Areas of controversy, such as how specific some of the intracellular markers are, get very little attention, despite being of particular interest to many end- users. The chapter also includes some new, detailed protocols that should be of use to many, although unfortunately those for marker- enzyme assays appended at the end of the book have not been modified in line with the main text.

In conclusion, this is a welcome revision of a weU-known book, but not one that owners of earlier editions should rush to upgrade to.

Pau| Qu|nn

Department of Physiology, University College London, University Street, London, UK WC1E 6IT.

TRENDS IN CELL BIOLOGY VOL. 3 AUGUST 1993 285