New Approaches in Biological Research

Book excerpt: Editor Biography:Dr. Rajeshwar P. Sinha is a Professor of Molecular Biology at the Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. He received his Ph. D. in Biotechnology form Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. He is a fellow of the Society for Applied Biotechnology, India and recipient of the prestigious DAAD (Germany) fellowship. He has visited several countries such as Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands and United Kingdom, in the field of academics and research on one or the other scientific assignments. He has over 23 years of research and teaching experience. He has been working on effects of UV radiation on aquatic ecosystems and has concentrated on the effects on DNA damage and repair, phycobilliproteins, mycosporine-like amino acids and scytonemin induction in cyanobacteria and algae. He is a life member of various national and international scientific societies and an editorial board member of several national and international scientific journals. He has published over 200 original research papers, reviews and book chapters and edited three books. He is having an h-index of 41 with over 6300 citations in reputed scientific journals including Nature and Science.Book Description:Biological science primarily deals with the morphology, physiology and biochemistry of living organisms, including their distribution, taxonomy, evolution, structure, growth, function and metabolism. All living organisms undergo metabolism, maintain homeostasis, have the capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, communicate through various means, reproduce and adapt to their environment through natural selection. The organisms that photosynthesize are the primary producers and represent life support systems from aesthetics to food to medicine. The book deals with the topics pertaining to biotechnology, molecular biology, ecology, plant pathology, bionanotechnology and stress biology. Technology-assisted research had led to the evolution of new disciplines of biological sciences with narrow specialization.The requirement of food, medicines, natural products, the quest to resolve and develop a better understanding of life and other biological processes need to conserve genes, plants and ecosystems; the apprehension of land, water and the environment have led to the strengthening of traditional disciplines as well as the emergence of diverse disciplines such as stress biology, molecular biology, biotechnology and bioinformatics.The chapters in this book impart the recent developments and the state-of-the art knowledge in biological sciences. In addition, this book provides newer techniques and uses for these tools in achieving the potential of biotechnology to understand some of the basic problems in biological sciences.Target Audience:This book is highly useful and must read for students, researchers and professionals in botany, biotechnology, environmental sciences, agriculture, molecular biology and other streams of biological sciences.