In the summer of 1976 a successful workshop on nucleic acids and protein synthesis in plant systems was organised in Strasbourg by Jacques Weil and Lawrence Bogorad. The participants in the workshop, were, without exception, excited both by the quality of the work discussed and by the rapid progress being made in several areas of genomic analysis and expression in plants. It also became apparent that there was a need for an international assembly of this sort at regular intervals. These workshops not only encourage stim ulating discussion and constructive thinking but also result in increased collaboration and productive liaison between laboratories with common interests. Hence a ten-day advanced studies institute course was organised in Edinburgh from 11-21 July 1979, and in this volume we have published the contributions given by the invited speakers. The subjects discussed covered most areas of plant molecular biology and the lecturers were asked to balance a review of their chosen subject with the results of their own recent research and likely future advances. Probably the most important technical advance since the previous meeting of this group in Strasbourg, was the application of restriction enzyme analysis and cloning techniques. This is illustrated in many of the published lectures and was the basis for many of the more informal discussion sessions.

The breadth of scientific and technological interests in the general topic of photochemistry is truly enormous and includes, for example, such diverse areas as microelectronics, atmospheric chemistry, organic synthesis, non-conventional photoimaging, photosynthesis, solar energy conversion, polymer technologies, and spectroscopy. This Specialist Periodical Report on Photochemistry aims to provide an annual review of photo-induced processes that have relevance to the above wide-ranging academic and commercial disciplines, and interests in chemistry, physics, biology and technology. In order to provide easy access to this vast and varied literature, each volume of Photochemistry comprises sections concerned with photophysical processes in condensed phases, organic aspects which are sub-divided by chromophore type, polymer photochemistry, and photochemical aspects of solar energy conversion. Volume 34 covers literature published from July 2001 to June 2002. Specialist Periodical Reports provide systematic and detailed review coverage in major areas of chemical research. Compiled by teams of leading authorities in the relevant subject areas, the series creates a unique service for the active research chemist, with regular, in-depth accounts of progress in particular fields of chemistry. Subject coverage within different volumes of a given title is similar and publication is on an annual or biennial basis.

This volume contains the lectures and seminars presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Lasers in Biology and Medicine organized by the International School of Quantum Electronics at the Villa Le Pianore, Camaiore, Italy, August 19-31, 1979. Most laser applications in biology and medicine are highly interdisciplinary in nature, drawing from and pertaining to such diverse fields as the physical sciences ( (bio)physics, (bio)chemi stry) , engineering, the biological sciences (cellular research, photobiology) and finally theoretical and clinical medicine. Indeed the group of participants of the summer school did reflect this diversity both in background and interest. The presentations con tained in this volume mainly fall into two categories: tutorial lectures on the most important general subjects, intended to lay a common base for all participants, and a number of more advanced con tributions, serving the purpose of exemplifying selected but typical applications in their current state of development. Intense inter communication, lively discussion, and here and there even future cooperation were the general aims more than a detailed in-depth discussion of one or the other aspect of this large field. In this sense it is the hope of the organizing committee that, despite the inevitable limitations, a broad and reasonably representative cov erage of the field has been achieved and that this volume may be a valuable aid for newcomers to get a good start into this complex subject area for some years to corne.

This volume contains summaries of most of the invited presentations given by lecturers and participants at the NATO Advanced Study Institute, "Develop mental Neurobiology of Vision," held in Rethymnon, Crete, Greece 18-27 Sep tember 1978. The purpose of this meeting was to enable a relatively small international group of scientists and students to hold discussions and to present their views on current problems in the field. It was intended that the results of the exchanges would be conveyed to others in the native countries of the parti cipants. An attempt was made to obtain broad representation of disciplines within the area of the Institute and this is reflected in the diversity of the chapters in this book. Considerable interest has been generated in recent years concerning the development and plasticity of vision. Perhaps not unexpectedly, along with the high level of activity in this field, there have been so me controversial findings.

This interdisciplinary book focuses on the various aspects transformation of the energy from sunlight into the chemical bonds of a fuel, known as the artificial photosynthesis, and addresses the emergent challenges connected with growing societal demands for clean and sustainable energy technologies. The editors assemble the research of world-recognized experts in the field of both molecular and materials artificial systems for energy production. Contributors cover the full scope of research on photosynthesis and related energy processes.

Thirteen years have gone by since the first international meet ing on Animal Sonar Systems was held in Frascati, Italy, in 1966. Since that time, almost 900 papers have been published on its theme. The first symposium was vital as it was the starting point for new research lines whose goal was to design and develop technological systems with properties approaching optimal biological systems. There have been highly significant developments since then in all domains related to biological sonar systems and in their appli cations to the engineering field. The time had therefore come for a multidisciplinary integration of the information gathered, not only on the evolution of systems used in animal echolocation, but on systems theory, behavior and neurobiology, signal-to-noise ratio, masking, signal processing, and measures observed in certain species against animal sonar systems. Modern electronics technology and systems theory which have been developed only since 1974 now allow designing sophisticated sonar and radar systems applying principles derived from biological systems. At the time of the Frascati meeting, integrated circuits and technol ogies exploiting computer science were not well enough developed to yield advantages now possible through use of real-time analysis, leading to, among other things, a definition of target temporal char acteristics, as biological sonar systems are able to do. All of these new technical developments necessitate close co operation between engineers and biologists within the framework of new experiments which have been designed, particularly in the past five years.

The concept of a blood retinal barrier is still relatively new in the ophthalmic literature. fuereas work on the blood-brain barrier was initiated in the first decade of this century, the blood retinal barrier has only recently been defined. Information accu mulated during the last 10 years has shown that the function of the blood-ocular barriers may be better understood if two main barrier systems are considered to exist in the eye. The blood-aqueous barrier regulates the exchanges between the blood and the intraocu lar fluids, and the blood-retinal barrier separates the neural tissue from the blood. Recent studies have shown that the blood-retinal barrier plays a fundamental role in controlling the microenvironment of the retina. Similarly, the significance of the blood-retinal barrier in retinal disease has become increasingly clear. Fluorescein angiography has demonstrated an intricate series of relationships between altera tions of the blood-retinal barrier and diverse retinal diseases, particularly vascular retinopathies and pigment epitheliopathies. Finally, in the past few years, vitreous fluorophotometry has pro vided a new and accurate index of the alteration of the blood-retinal barrier."