image: The cover of The Nucleus features a diagram illustrating the organization of the eukaryotic nucleus. Depicted are chromatin (orange), enclosed by and anchored to the nuclear envelope (gray), and transcribing RNPs (purple), which after processing are exported through nuclear pore complexes (green and blue). (Illustration courtesy of Michael P. Rout, The Rockefeller University.) view more
Credit: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Nov. 30, 2010) -- The nucleus of a cell contains its DNA and is the site where DNA replication, transcription, and RNA processing take place. Within the nucleus, nuclear bodies appear to dynamically self-organize, assembling and disassembling according to the functional demands of the cell.
"The study of the cell nucleus, its structure, and its functions, is arguably one of the most exciting fields of contemporary cell biology," write Tom Misteli and David Spector in the Preface of The Nucleus, a newly released book from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. "We finally need to know how genomes really work in the context of their natural environment, the cell nucleus."
The Nucleus contains 28 chapters, each written by leading nuclear biologists and focusing on a specific aspect of the cell nucleus. Topics include the relationship between nuclear structure and function, the various nuclear bodies that have been identified, and the organization of the nuclear lamina and nuclear pore complex. Other chapters examine the higher-order organization of chromatin within the nucleus and the dynamics of DNA replication, transcription, DNA repair, and RNA transport. The last few chapters describe pathological conditions involving disruption of nuclear structure and function.
The book will be essential reading for all molecular and cell biologists—from students to experts in the field—as well as for pathologists interested in the role of nuclear architecture in disease.
About the book: The Nucleus was edited by Tom Misteli (National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health) and David L. Spector (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory). It is published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (ISBN 978-0-879698-94-2; © 2011) and is available in hardcover (517 pp., 7" × 10"). For more information, see http://www.cshlpress.com/link/nucleus.htm.
About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press is an internationally renowned publisher of books, journals, and electronic media, located on Long Island, New York. Since 1933, it has furthered the advance and spread of scientific knowledge in all areas of genetics and molecular biology, including cancer biology, plant science, bioinformatics, and neurobiology. It is a division of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, an innovator in life science research and the education of scientists, students, and the public. For more information, visit www.cshlpress.com.