The first essay, "Mendel and Human Genetics," is a

brief (26-page) account of the origins and development

of the subject. Mendel's influence was indirect,

but is rightly considered as of primary importance.

The emphasis, in this essay, is on the development

of sound basic approaches to the study of the genetics

of man, with little attention to the numerous

Utopian schemes that have always been so conspicuous

in the literature of eugenics

Sturtevant, A. H.

Caltech Authors - Main

Genetic Mosaics and Other Essays. The John M. Prather Lectures, 1965. by Curt Stern
Review by: A. H. Sturtevant
The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Sep., 1969), pp. 303-304
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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SEPTEMBER 1969] NEW BIOLOGICAL BOOKS 303 
Paris. 57 F. ix + 285 p.; ill.; subject index. 
1968. 
Elements de Pathologie Cellulaire corresponds to 
the Elements de Physiologie Cellulaire by the same 
author. Modern cytology having progressed mainly 
in the field of cellular substructure and molecular 
architecture, it was inevitable to conceive a cellular 
pathology based on morphology of ultrastructures 
and their physio-pathologic mechanisms. 
Molecular pathology of the cell is described in 
three parts. In each chapter the authors have col-
lected some examples of the corresponding patholo-
gies with analyses of the subcellular and molecular 
mechanisms involved in them. The first part deals 
with the pathology of the cell as a whole: processes 
of aging and death of the cell, edema and hydropic 
degeneration, deposits and infiltrations (lipids, cho-
lesterol, pigments, calcium for example), cellular 
growth and differentiation, the cancer cell. The 
second part is concerned with pathologic alterations 
of cell organelles, such as those of the nucleus, 
nucleoli, cellular surface, Golgi apparatus, lyso-
somes, etc. The third part reviews the pathology of 
cellular populations, that is, the interrelation of 
cells, in chapters on cellular motion, adherence, 
fusion, aggregation, and disagreggation of cells. At 
the end of each chapter is a short bibliography 
giving references, recent papers, or books to read 
for more detailed information. 
This book is not an exhaustive one, considering 
the enormity of the subject. It has been written for 
non-specialists, physicians, biologists, pathologists, 
or biochemists wishing to follow the progress of a 
quickly growing science. It is also useful for its 
general concepts and synthetic views suggested as 
underlying the numerous gaps in our knowledge, 
and for its pointing of new ways for research in the 
future. 
ANDRE COLLET 
EINFUHRUNG IN DIE PRAXIS DER HISTOCHEMIE. Sec-
ond Revised Edition. 
By Ludwig Spannhof with the collaboration of 
Wolfgang Tessenow. VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag, 
Jena. $17.50. 172 p.; ill.; subject index. 1967. 
The "Introduction to the Practice of Histochemis-
try" was so well accepted in the first edition that 
within 3 years a new edition became necessary. The 
book, devoted especially to the newcomer to the 
field, students, and technical staff, covers the main 
topics of histochemistry: carbohydrates, lipids, pro-
teins, nucleoproteins and enzymes. In each of these 
chapters, the mechanisms of the respective histo-
chemical methods are given. The explications are 
exhaustive but intelligibly written. The techni-
cal prescription for each method has been brought 
up to the latest standard and the results are illus-
trated by black-and-white microphotographs. 
Several chapters include experiments (e.g., block-
ing reactions). This makes the book also suitable 
as a laboratory manual for practical courses aimed 
at understanding histochemistry. In the appendix 
are given the outlines for freezing-drying and freeze-
substitution, as well as formulae for fixing media 
and buffers frequently used in histochemistry. 
H. VON MAYERSBACH 
GENETICS AND EVOLUTION 
GENETIC MOSAICS AND OTHER ESSAYS. The john M. 
Prather Lectures, 1965. 
By Curt Stern. Harvard University Press, Cam-
bridge. $6.50. xi + 185 p.; ill.; author and sub-
ject indexes. 1968. 
The first essay, "Mendel and Human Genetics," is a 
brief (26-page) account of the origins and develop-
ment of the subject. Mendel's influence was indirect, 
but is rightly considered as of primary importance. 
The emphasis, in this essay, is on the development 
of sound basic approaches to the study of the ge-
netics of man, with little attention to the numerous 
Utopian schemes that have always been so con-
spicuous in the literature of eugenics. 
The second and longest essay, "Genetic Mosaics 
in Animals and Man," is a catalogue of the ways in 
which genetically different compositions may arise 
in a single individual- through accidents of fertili-
zation or of cell division, through somatic mutation 
or crossing over, through inactivation of parts of 
chromosomes, or through passage of cells from one 
embryo to another through the placenta. Examples 
- many of them from human material - of the 
various types and sub-types are described. This 
will be a very useful reference source, with a helpful 
bibliography. 
The third essay, "Developmental Genetics of Pat-
tern," contains a general discussion that is most 
welcome because it summarizes so much of the 
important work in this field done by Stern and his 
students in recent years. This work, based chiefly 
on the study of the bristles of Drosophila, has made 
use of mutant and sexual differences in mosaic indi-
viduals. The objective has been the integration of 
genetic and embryological approaches to the study 
of the development of pattern. Much of the discus-
sion centers around what Stern calls the "pre-
pattern," which is a relatively fixed system of sites, 
at each of which a bristle may develop, though it 
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304 THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY [VOLUME 44 
may fail to do so in any given individual. I must 
confess to reservations about the usefulness of this 
term, but there can be no doubt about the interest 
and importance of the many facts here summarized. 
The fourth essay, "Thoughts on Research," is a 
brief (4-page) account of what it is like to be a 
research scientist. I feel that it should be recom-
mended to every graduate student. 
A. H. STURTEVANT 
MAN AND HEREDITY. 
By G. W. Roderick. The Macmillan Co., Lon-
don, Melbourne, and Toronto; St. Martin's Press, 
New York. $7.00. ix + 240 p. + 8 p. pl.; ill.; 
subject index. 1968. 
This book was written primarily for students and 
teachers of biology, and for adults with varying 
backgrounds. The topics treated are Mendel's laws, 
the chemical nature and function of the gene, the 
various modes of inheritance, chromosomal abnor-
malities, blood groups, heredity and environment, 
genetic prediction, and the biological effects of ra-
diation. 
A disturbing feature of the book is the author's 
inconsistency. For example, the diagrams of sperma-
togenesis and oogenesis on page 22 do not show 
chromosome reduction in the products of the first 
division, but this is shown in similar diagrams on 
page 123. The author lists the hallmark features of 
most common genetic disorders, but for some he 
does not. The description of the nail-patella syn-
drome on page 27 fails to mention the cardinal 
feature of absent or hypoplastic patellae. In Chap-
ter 11, Heredity and Environment, the author dis-
cusses environmental influences operating in some 
conditions (e.g., hypertension) but for others he 
fails to do so (e.g., tuberculosis). 
The book contains factual errors: On page 19 
the author states, "chiasma formation results in 
genetic interchange;" he might better state "chias-
mata are the result of genetic interchange." On 
page 22 he states that an unreduced germ cell called 
spermatogonium enlarges to form two secondary 
spermatocytes; he might better state that a sperma-
togonium enlarges to form a primary spermatocyte. 
In the glossary, recombination and crossing over are 
stated to be synonymous, even though not every 
crossover event results in recombination. 
A carefully selected list of references and a bibli-
ography are included. The book is, by design, an 
oversimplification of a complex subject, but in spite 
of this and the slight inaccuracies, this very read-
able book offers the non-specialist an opportunity 
to become familiar with some basic human genetics. 
EDWARD R. PIERCE 
MOLECULAR GENETICS. Current Concepts in Biology 
Series. 
By A. Gib DeBusk. The Macmillan Company, 
New York; Collier-Macmillan, London. $1.95 
(paper). x + 134 p.; ill.; subject index. 1968. 
A few years ago Molecular Biology was the subject 
of special seminar courses for advanced graduate 
students. With the passing of time, knowledge of 
the subject has gradually filtered down to lower and 
lower educational strata. The filtering process nec-
essarily removes the distinctive flavor of the origi-
nal material. It is claimed on the cover that this 
book was prepared by distillation rather than by 
filtration. 
Gib DeBusk introduces the undergraduate student 
to the standard topics of Molecular Biology, such as 
structure and replication of DNA, transcription and 
translation of RNA, in addition to a potpourri of 
more genetical topics, such as recombination in 
microorganisms, complementation, mutagenesis, gene 
fine-structure analysis, and occasionally delving into 
esoterica, such as "regulatory role of hormones" 
and the "molecular basis of memory and behavior." 
There are several attractive features about the 
book: it is short, full of diagrams, and demands 
very little intellectually from the student. Its dis-
tinctive feature is the large number of scientists' 
names which are mentioned. 
C. M. STEINBERG 
GENETICS AND ANIMAL BREEDING. 
By Ivar Johansson and Jan Rendel; translated 
from the Swedish by Michael Taylor. W. H. 
Freeman and Company, San Francisco. $17.50. 
xi + 489 p.; ill.; subject index. 1968. 
The book gives a broad and general summary of 
published work relating to the improvement of 
domestic animals. It is an excellent general refer-
ence for most areas of animal breeding; it is not 
generally suitable or intended as a textbook for 
course work. Conclusions and results of previous 
work are presented without unnecessary detail. 
Proofs of formulae are omitted, as seems appropriate 
because of the breadth of subject matter. 
The first three chapters give background infor-
mation on the reproductive system, mendelian in-
heritance with a brief review of the structure of 
genetic material, and the first concepts of popula-
tion genetics. The remainder is devoted to applied 
animal breeding and related work. A chapter on 
multiple births covers general considerations and 
gives a critical discussion of the use of monozygotic 
cattle twins in research. The inheritance of coat 
color is discussed briefly for several species, includ-
ing fur-producing ones. A general discusion of the 
fast-growing field of the inheritance of blood char-


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