Survey of Biological Progress ed. by Bentley Glass (review)

Survey ofBiological Progress. Volume III. Edited by Bentley Glass. New York: Academic Press, Inc., 1957. Pp. 332. $7.50. The aim ofthis volume, the uiird in a series, is to present to biologists and other interested scientific readers reviews diat are "comprehensive in scope and that provide perspectives in viewing the growdi ofthe biological sciences." The extent to which this promise is fulfilled and the value and success ofthe endeavor depend, first, on the aid afforded the specialist in collating and interpreting advances in his field and, second, on providing perspective and orientation to the biologist whose work may be rather far afield. In a venture such as uiis, the editor is at the mercy ofhis contributors (albeit he has a say in die choice ofhis executioners), and his success or failure depends as much on dieir competence as on his own. Bentley Glass, who edits this volume, has been fortunate. Three of the articles are successful on bodi scores; die other three, only when measured against the first criterion. Jane Oppenheimer has contributed a review which traces the growth and transformation of significant embryological concepts in the twentieth century. This ably written essay combines severalvirtues. It is ahistory ofideas as well as a philosophy ofscienceand has pertinence for all biologists. Recent experimental advances in embryology and especially the current emphasis on molecular biology and biochemistry are described and placed in their proper historic context. Ofthe six reviews contained in this volume, "Chemoreception and die Behavior of Insects" by V. G. Dethier is the most fascinating (if diis be a strange adjective for a scientific report, I can diink of no other more appropriate). Dr. Dethier describes the felicitous results ofdie application ofthe experimental approach to the problems ofinsect behavior: host-finding and recognition; chemical trail-following; orientation by flying insects; and mating behavior. The review reads like a bizarre mystery story, complete widi an astonishing denouement, in which a seemingly insoluble problem is solved. The major concern ofcontemporary endocrinology is with the mechanism ofaction of hormones. For a basic understanding of their role in bodily homeostasis, one must look beyond where they are produced and on what end-organs they have a specific effect. The search for mechanism ofaction has proceeded in several directions. Rachmiel Levine, who has contributed a challenging article on this subject, is a pioneer in the field. He and his co-workers, by their experimental demonstration ofthe role ofinsulin in facilitating die transport ofcertain sugars into the cell interior, were responsible for a fundamental change in the thinking ofendocrinologists. This work is described in his article, and he builds a strong case for his argument diat other hormones may act by altering cytoarchitecture and thus modify the access ofsubstrate to the enzymatic machinery. The three remaining articles are "Trends in Systematic Botany" by D. D. Keck; "Problems ofChromosomal Evolution in Animals" by M.J. D. White; and "Respiration and Cellular Work and the Regulation ofthe Respiration Rate in Plants" by G. C. Laites. All are scholarly studies presented with insight. They will, however, be ofvalue mainly to the specialist. Ira G. Wool University ofChicago 234 Book Reviews Perspectives in Biology and Medicine · Winter 19^8 ...