James F. Battey

This two-volume treatise, the collected effort of more than 50 international experts, represents the first comprehensive survey of the chemistry and biology of the set of molecules known as peptide growth factors. These substances are of universal importance in biology and medicine and are the basis of common language of intercellular communication.-The detailed description of each of the major peptide growth factors is the principal focus of these volumes. Essential information is provided on the primary structure, gene structure, gene regulation, cell surface receptors, biological activity, and potential therapeutic applications of each growth factor. The coordinate actions of sets of growth factors and their role in controlling fundamental processes that pertain to many different cells and tissues are also dealt with.-The peptides described here are of fundamental importance for understanding the behavior of all cells, and they will be of major importance in the practice of clinical medicine in the years to come.- These volumes will be of value to both researchers and clinicians in their pursuit and application of new knowledge in this promising area.

Mouse knockout technology provides a powerful means of elucidating gene function in vivo, and a publicly available genome-wide collection of mouse knockouts would be significantly enabling for biomedical discovery. To date, published knockouts exist for only about 10% of mouse genes. Furthermore, many of these are limited in utility because they have not been made or phenotyped in standardized ways, and many are not freely available to researchers. It is time to harness new technologies and efficiencies of production to mount a high-throughput international effort to produce and phenotype knockouts for all mouse genes, and place these resources into the public domain.