Over the past twenty years

The disciplines of cellular and molecular biology have generated a bounty of information pertaining to the understanding of the structure and function of eukaryotic cells. It is now recognized that individual cells regulate their activities in response to a multitude of external signals; that external signals, acting through a limited number of second messenger systems, modulate the cell's pattern of gene expression; and that the cohort of genes available for regulation is dependent upon the developmental history of the cell. Extrapolating these truths to the whole organism is a challenge that has been met by an increasing number of investigators.

The wealth of information that molecular and cell biology has provided us with is now being integrated into an understanding of whole tissues, organs, and organisms. Without such an integration, the molecular information will be nothing more than a confusing catalog of sequences and structures. Central to this project will be the application of the powerful new techniques described in Transgenesis Techniques: Principles and Protocols.