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Dear Mersenne Subscribers, I hope the following will be of interest to you: Genes in Development Re-reading the Molecular Paradigm Edited by Eva M. Neumann-Held and Christoph Rehmann-Sutter "Together the essays in Genes in Development give lively voice to many of the current alternatives to genetic reductionism. Well-known figures from the debates of the past two decades are represented alongside a good number of emerging scholars."-Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin "The rich scientific knowledge about the genetic basis of life and it complex involvement in the life of individuals and populations is highly relevant to our worldview. Genes in Development helps to bring understandings of the conceptual and philosophical implications of molecular genetics up to date."-Werner Arber, Nobel Laureate in Medicine and Emeritus Professor of Molecular Microbiology, University of Basel In light of scientific advances such as genomics, predictive diagnostics, genetically engineered agriculture, nuclear transfer cloning, and the manipulation of stem cells, the idea that genes carry predetermined molecular programs or blueprints is pervasive. Yet new scientific discoveries-such as rna transcripts of single genes that can lead to the production of different compounds from the same pieces of dna-challenge the concept of the gene alone as the dominant factor in biological development. Increasingly aware of the tension between certain empirical results and interpretations of those results based on the orthodox view of genetic determinism, a growing number of scientists urge a rethinking of what a gene is and how it works. In this collection, a group of internationally renowned scientists present some prominent alternative approaches to understanding the role of dna in the construction and function of biological organisms Contributors discuss alternatives to the programmatic view of dna, including the developmental systems approach, methodical culturalism, the molecular process concept of the gene, the hermeneutic theory of description, and process structuralist biology. None of the approaches cast doubt on the notion that dna is tremendously important to biological life on earth; rather, contributors examine different ideas of how dna should be represented, evaluated, and explained. Just as ideas about genetic codes have reached far beyond the realm of science, the reconceptualizations of genetic theory in this volume have broad implications for ethics, philosophy, and the social sciences Contributors. Thomas Bürglin, Brian C. Goodwin, James Griesemer, Paul Griffiths, Jesper Hoffmeyer, Evelyn Fox Keller, Gerd B. Müller, Eva M. Neumann-Held, Stuart A. Newman, Susan Oyama, Christoph Rehmann-Sutter, Sahotra Sarkar, Jackie Leach Scully, Gerry Webster, Ulrich Wolf Eva M. Neumann-Held is Research Assistant and Lecturer in Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Dortmund in Germany. Christoph Rehmann-Sutter is Assistant Professor for Ethics in Biosciences and Biotechnology at the University of Basel in Switzerland. See Reviews CONTENTS Introduction Eva M. Neumann-Held and Christoph Rehmann-Sutter I. Empirical Approaches 1. Genome Analysis and Developmental Biology: The Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model System Thomas R. Burglin 2. Genes and Form: Inherency in the Evolution of Developmental Mechanisms Stuart A. Newman and Gerd B. Muller II. Looking Back into History 3. From Genes as Determinants to DNA as Resource: Historical Notes on Development and Genetics Sahotra Sarkar III. Theorizing Genes 4. The Origin of Species: A Structuralist Approach Gerry Webster and Brian C. Goodwin 5. On the Problem of the Molecular versus the Organismic Aproach in Biology Ulrich Wolf 6. Genes, Development, and Semiosis Jesper Hoffmeyer 7. The Fearless Vampire Conservator: Philip Kitcher, Genetic Determism, and the Informational Gene Paul E. Griffiths 8. Genetics from an Evolutionary Process Perspective James Griesemer 9. Genes-Causes-Codes: Deciphering DNA's Ontological Privilege Eva M. Newmann-Held 10. Boundaries and (Constructive) Interaction Susan Oyama 11. Beyond the Gene but Beneath the Skin Evelyn Fox Keller 12. Poiesis and Praxis: Two Modes of Understanding Development Christoph Rehmann-Sutter IV. Social and Ethical Implications 13. Developmental Emergence, Genes, and Responsible Science Brian C. Goodwin 14. Nothing Like a Gene Jackie Leach Scully Contributors Index Duke University Press February 2006 384 pages 27 figures ISBN 0-8223-3667-7 Paperback - £15.95 SPECIAL DISCOUNTED PRICE OF £11.00 to MERSENNE Subscribers Postage and Packing £2.75 To order a copy please contact Marston on 44(0)1235 465500 or email [log in to unmask] or visit our website www.combinedacademic.demon.co.uk (Please quote reference M56GID). Julia Monk Marketing Manager Combined Academic Publishers 48 Baldslow Road Hastings East Sussex TN34 2EY Tel/Fax: 44 (0)1424 436533 Email: [log in to unmask]