X-Ray Crystallography of Biomacromolecules

engineering, and mathematics. In this carefully designed book, John Moore and Ann Stuart demystify the basics of nerve function through a series of logical and well-written text-based tutorials with accompanying computer simulations. The journey through the book and CD allows readers to gradually build a solid foundation of neuronal biophysics, beginning with basic properties of membranes to more advanced concepts of synaptic integration and action potential threshold. Familiarity with biology and some introductory physics is necessary, but senior college students, graduate students, and others who are interested in physiology can benefit very much from this experience as either an introduction to neurophysiology or as a refresher on certain concepts. Furthermore, simulated experiments are not only cleaner and cheaper, but readers can make manipulations which are impossible or difficult to do experimentally (“What happens if I change axon diameter?” or “What happens if I change the ion concentrations inside a neuron?”). Medical students who feel uncomfortable with their knowledge of membrane physiology would come away with a better understanding by going through the first half of the book. The computer-based format is ideal for professors and teaching assistants to use in the classroom. The inclusion of classic experimental papers on the CD also makes the experience somewhat of a history lesson as well. The authors pay homage to classical experiments on the squid axon, neuromuscular junction, and beyond. Readers will feel like they are stepping into the shoes of Hodgkin, Huxley, Katz, and Eccles. The entire simulation environment is contained on the CD, can be easily installed locally on a PC or Mac, and runs quickly using Mozilla Firefox. However, it should be noted that the simulations are styled after the NEURON software program, used in basic science research and pioneered by Moore and others. Therefore, new users may have a hard time in the beginning with some quirky features and displays. In some of the tutorials, steps must be done in a particular order, which can make independent “experimenting” somewhat confusing. However, after the first few lessons, this format and style become second nature. Overall, Moore and Stuart certainly have created a highly recommendable method for learning and teaching neurophysiology. Readers can now, from the comfort of their own homes, finally vanquish those former physiology demons in a fun and interactive manner — and learn a bit of history, too.