On August 21-26, 1977, two symposia were included in the program of the 10th Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology held at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. One was entitled "Invertebrate Models for Biomedical Research" organized by Dr. Thomas C. Cheng, and the second, organized by Dr. Robert S. Anderson, was entitled "Cellular and Humoral Reactions to Disease by Invertebrate Animals." When the final manuscripts of the speakers were received, it became apparent that all of the papers were so closely related that the editors decided that they should be combined and published in a single volume of Comparative Pathobiology under the subtitle of Invertebrate Models for Biomedical Research. This volume is the result. We hope that volume four will provide the reader further insight into the complexity and comprehensiveness of pathobiology. Pathobiology encompasses not only the study of pathologic conditions but also the biology of causative agents and response reactions.

On August 21-26, 1977, two symposia were included in the program of the 10th Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology held at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. One was entitled "Invertebrate Models for Biomedical Research" organized by Dr. Thomas C. Cheng, and the second, organized by Dr. Robert S. Anderson, was entitled "Cellular and Humoral Reactions to Disease by Invertebrate Animals." When the final manuscripts of the speakers were received, it became apparent that all of the papers were so closely related that the editors decided that they should be combined and published in a single volume of Comparative Pathobiology under the subtitle of Invertebrate Models for Biomedical Research. This volume is the result. We hope that volume four will provide the reader further insight into the complexity and comprehensiveness of pathobiology. Pathobiology encompasses not only the study of pathologic conditions but also the biology of causative agents and response reactions.

This book provides essential knowledge and informa-tion required to adequately assess useful alternatives from among the lower vertebrates and the invertebrates. This volume highlights unfamiliar and underde-veloped organisms that have the potential to become very satisfactory surrogates for biomedical research. A practical guide aimed at disseminating information to researchers about new models, this work provides compara-tive biomedical studies at many levels of the phyloge-netic ladder.

The collection of systems represented in Sourcebook of genomic programs, although this work is certainly well Models for Biomedical Research is an effort to re?ect the represented and indexed. diversity and utility of models that are used in biomedicine. Some models have been omitted due to page limitations That utility is based on the consideration that observations and we have encouraged the authors to use tables and made in particular organisms will provide insight into the ? gures to make comparisons of models so that observations workings of other, more complex, systems. Even the cell not available in primary publications can become useful to cycle in the simple yeast cell has similarities to that in the reader. humans and regulation with similar proteins occurs. We thank Richard Lansing and the staff at Humana for Some models have the advantage that the reproductive, guidance through the publication process. mitotic, development or aging cycles are rapid compared As this book was entering production, we learned of the with those in humans; others are utilized because individual loss of Tom Lanigan, Sr. Tom was a leader and innovator proteins may be studied in an advantageous way and that in scienti?c publishing and a good friend and colleague to have human homologs. Other organisms are facile to grow all in the exploratory enterprise. We dedicate this book to in laboratory settings or lend themselves to convenient analy- his memory. We will miss him greatly.

An imbalance between energy uptake and energy expenditure can lead to obesity. In addition to the modulation of fundamental pathways, obesity can increase the risk of coronary heart diseases, high blood pressure, stroke, type II diabetes and some cancers. Given that key elements of the energy pathways (both sugar and fat) are evolutionary conserved, invertebrate research is an attractive alternative that overcome the many legislative, financial and experimental hurdles typical of research with higher metazoan animals. The premier invertebrate models in the study of lipid metabolism and disease are the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. This paper explores the background, advances but also limitations of the nematode system and highlights examples of the more prominent phenotypic, genetic and genomic applications. Finally, a brief overview is given to summarize how other invertebrate models have been used to investigate the intrinsic and overarching drivers of fat metabolism and to uncover their potential for drug discovery and delivery screens.

Scientific experiments using animals have contributed significantly to the improvement of human health. Animal experiments were crucial to the conquest of polio, for example, and they will undoubtedly be one of the keystones in AIDS research. However, some persons believe that the cost to the animals is often high. Authored by a committee of experts from various fields, this book discusses the benefits that have resulted from animal research, the scope of animal research today, the concerns of advocates of animal welfare, and the prospects for finding alternatives to animal use. The authors conclude with specific recommendations for more consistent government action.