Biotechnology made simple: A glossary of recombinant DNA and hybridoma technology: PJB Publications,...
1
Trendsm Bwtechnology, Vol. I, No. 1, 1983 The inclusion of a chapter by Alan MacPherson on the place of patents in the semiconductor industry is intrigu- ing. One looks for possible parallels and lessons which might be drawn for the younger technology but no clear message comes through. The alterna- tives of patents and trade secrets must always depend on the specific case. The semiconductor industry is not driven by patents but by innovation and increasing complexity. Is the pharma- ceutical industry so different because of the importance it attributes to product patents? The open forum on legal problems is quite brief but gives Examiner Alvin Tannenholtz the chance to explain the workings of the US Patent and Trade Mark Office. The final chapter on the revision of law and the US court system is very much one for the lawyers and officials. It does, however, give Sydney Brenner the chance to state his view of 33 the obligation of government-funded scientists to consider the contribution they can make to their country's econ- omy, and the need for the institutions which employ them to learn how to make the difficult judgements that this may sometimes require. R S CRESPI Patents Controller, Brinsh Technology Group, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BU, UK. BIOTECHNOLOGY MADE SIMPLE: A GLOSSARY OF RECOMBINANT DNA AND HYBRIDOMA TECHNOLOGY P J B Publications, 18-20 Hill Rise, Richmond, Surrey TW10 6UA, UK, 1983. £75.00/$150 (iv + 117 pages) The businessman, engineer or chemist working for a biotechnology company will undoubtedly find genetics and immunology mystifying at first sight. This book presents itself as a solution to their problems. The first section tries to explain basic genetics, DNA recombination and monoclonal antibody techniques in twenty-eight pages. The text is easy to follow and the need for conciseness is satisfied by the diagrams and their captions, which expand on terms and techniques mentioned briefly in the text. There are, however, several points which could cause bewilder- ment. For example, after beginning 'For the uninitiated', we are confront- ed by 5' and 3' hydroxyl links without a diagram to show what they are. This could have been included in Part II, Fig. 20: The chemical structures of the components of nucleic acid, and a cross-reference made. A few pages later the three-letter abbreviations for amino acids are introduced without reference to Table 2 in Part III, where the three-letter and one-letter symbols for the amino acids encoded by the A high price to pay for progress genetic code are presented. Again, the 'gene machine' is mentioned tantaliz- ingly without referring to its entry in the glossary. The first part of the book is much en- hanced by the second - a dictionary of relevant biochemistry and genetics. As the subtitle suggests, this is the most extensive, and arguably the most use- ful, part of the book. Each entry has a sentence or paragraph of explanation and the fifteen diagrams again eluci- date the text skilfully. Concatemer, Golgi apparatus, Lymph, Newcastle Disease virus and Ultrasonication might give an indication of the wide range of subjects covered. Part III contains thirteen tables of information both interesting and vari- ous, ranging from nucleic acid nomen- clature and the genetic code to pro- ducts successfully cloned and expressed in E. coli and potential methods of interferon production - and even units of mass and length. When Meischer isolated 'nuclein' (DNA) from cell nuclei in 1869, I wonder if he suspected the medical and financial benefits this promised for the future. His achievement is the first entry in a chronological list of major developments in biotechnology, in Part IV: the appendices. Under- lining these benefits, this section also contains a list of potential pharma- ceutical products from recombinant DNA technology, The other two appendices give enzymes used in gene manipulation and some 'Notes of interest' - including the fact that about 90% of worldwide sales of medical amino acids are produced by Japanese companies. For maximum usefulness, the four parts of this book must be used in con- junction with each other and it is a pity, therefore, that more opportunities for cross-referencing were not taken up. The book ends with twenty refer- ences to key books and papers. Most of the information could be obtained from these sources, but it is presented here in an easily accessible form, and with a biotechnologic~tl 'slant'. This 'potted' knowledge will not confer instant understanding on the complete beginner, but will help those with some grounding in the biological sciences. It would, in fact, be an excellent revision manual for students of biochemistry or genetics, but that it costs an unbelievable £75.00l$150. All the more unbelievable because It ap- pears to be simply a photocopy of a typescript, ring-bound in paper just slightly thicker than the paper inside. The content is useful and well-presen- ted and would be expensive at half the price. JUDITH HALL Trends in Biotechnology
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Transcript of Biotechnology made simple: A glossary of recombinant DNA and hybridoma technology: PJB Publications,...
Trends m Bwtechnology, Vol. I, No. 1, 1983
The inclusion of a chapter by Alan MacPherson on the place of patents in the semiconductor industry is intrigu- ing. One looks for possible parallels and lessons which might be drawn for the younger technology but no clear message comes through. The alterna- tives of patents and trade secrets must always depend on the specific case. The semiconductor industry is not driven by patents but by innovation and increasing complexity. Is the pharma-
ceutical industry so different because of the importance it attributes to product patents?
The open forum on legal problems is quite brief but gives Examiner Alvin Tannenholtz the chance to explain the workings of the US Patent and Trade Mark Office. The final chapter on the revision of law and the US court system is very much one for the lawyers and officials. It does, however, give Sydney Brenner the chance to state his view of
33
the obligation of government-funded scientists to consider the contribution they can make to their country's econ- omy, and the need for the institutions which employ them to learn how to make the difficult judgements that this may sometimes require.
R S CRESPI
Patents Controller, Brinsh Technology Group, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BU, UK.
BIOTECHNOLOGY MADE SIMPLE: A GLOSSARY OF RECOMBINANT DNA AND HYBRIDOMA TECHNOLOGY
PJB Publications, 18-20 Hill Rise, Richmond, Surrey TW10 6UA, UK, 1983. £75.00/$150 (iv + 117 pages)
The businessman, engineer or chemist working for a biotechnology company will undoubtedly find genetics and immunology mystifying at first sight. This book presents itself as a solution to their problems.
The first section tries to explain basic genetics, DNA recombination and monoclonal antibody techniques in twenty-eight pages. The text is easy to follow and the need for conciseness is satisfied by the diagrams and their captions, which expand on terms and techniques mentioned briefly in the text. There are, however, several points which could cause bewilder- ment. For example, after beginning 'For the uninitiated', we are confront- ed by 5' and 3' hydroxyl links without a diagram to show what they are. This could have been included in Part II, Fig. 20: The chemical structures of the components of nucleic acid, and a cross-reference made. A few pages later the three-letter abbreviations for amino acids are introduced without reference to Table 2 in Part III, where the three-letter and one-letter symbols for the amino acids encoded by the
A high price to pay for progress
genetic code are presented. Again, the 'gene machine' is mentioned tantaliz- ingly without referring to its entry in the glossary.
The first part of the book is much en- hanced by the second - a dictionary of relevant biochemistry and genetics. As the subtitle suggests, this is the most extensive, and arguably the most use- ful, part of the book. Each entry has a sentence or paragraph of explanation and the fifteen diagrams again eluci- date the text skilfully. Concatemer, Golgi apparatus, Lymph, Newcastle Disease virus and Ultrasonication might give an indication of the wide range of subjects covered.
Part III contains thirteen tables of information both interesting and vari- ous, ranging from nucleic acid nomen- clature and the genetic code to pro- ducts successfully cloned and expressed in E. coli and potential methods of interferon production - and even units of mass and length.
When Meischer isolated 'nuclein' (DNA) from cell nuclei in 1869, I wonder i f he suspected the medical and financial benefits this promised for the future. His achievement is the first entry in a chronological list of major developments in biotechnology, in Part IV: the appendices. Under- lining these benefits, this section also contains a list of potential pharma- ceutical products from recombinant
DNA technology, The other two appendices give enzymes used in gene manipulation and some 'Notes of interest' - including the fact that about 90% of worldwide sales of medical amino acids are produced by Japanese companies.
For maximum usefulness, the four parts of this book must be used in con- junction with each other and it is a pity, therefore, that more opportunities for cross-referencing were not taken up.
The book ends with twenty refer- ences to key books and papers. Most of the information could be obtained from these sources, but it is presented here in an easily accessible form, and with a biotechnologic~tl 'slant'. This 'potted' knowledge will not confer instant understanding on the complete beginner, but will help those with some grounding in the biological sciences. It would, in fact, be an excellent revision manual for students of biochemistry or genetics, but that it costs an unbelievable £75.00l$150. All the more unbelievable because It ap- pears to be simply a photocopy of a typescript, ring-bound in paper just slightly thicker than the paper inside. The content is useful and well-presen- ted and would be expensive at half the price.
JUDITH HALL Trends in Biotechnology
