Strategies of Self Defense

recalled that one had shown three bands, produced ples of versatility in response to DNA alterations are the frequent collapse of DNA replication forks encountering by a mix-up in the experimental procedure. No such endogenous damage in normal proliferating cells, which photograph was among the preserved set. To avoid necessitates resolution by specific recombinational re-forcing the interpretation, Holmes constructs three alter-pair processes, and the existence of multiple cellular native explanations of the discrepancy—and it's a pretty DNA polymerases designed for nonprocessive transle-piece of reasoning. Unfortunately, it collapses. On read-sion synthesis rather than for rapid replication. ing this passage, I called Meselson to tell him where to Errol Friedberg made a major contribution to the DNA find the missing evidence: on New Years Day, 1948, repair field in the 1980s by integrating all the disparate when six friends who had been undergraduates at the information on the topic into a highly readable and au-University of Chicago had got together after ten years, thoritative monograph, and the extensively revised 1995 he had shown us a photo that included the three-band version of DNA Repair and Mutagenesis by Friedberg, image and had described the experiment—several Walker, and Siede remains the best introduction to the months before publication. field. But the information in that book is now over 6 Yes, detail is the essence of Holmes's method; and, years old, and does not cover a large body of recent yes, here his extreme preoccupation with detail is the advances. Nickoloff and Hoekstra edited a two-volume method's undoing. At the local level, it produces a style multiauthor set on DNA Damage and Repair in 1998, that is smooth but ambling, with no tension. More gener-which contained much useful and novel information, but ally, he offers far too little consideration of the implica-suffered from the usual problem with such collections of tions of his method and its results, this time around, for chapters that some subjects were rather better covered our understanding of how scientific research works. The than others. method is powerful. The result is monumental. Readers The present volume of DNA Damage and Repair com-already well versed in the science may be engrossed. plements and extends the two previous ones. In my Meselson says he will reread and return to it with remi-opinion, the most valuable components of this book are niscent pleasure. Most will find it stupefying. comprehensive reviews of DNA repair in …