Yeast as a Model Organism

I realize that mutational experiments with the cell division cycle in baker's yeast may not be at the top of your list curiosity-wise, and if that's the case you can skip on ahead to the next review. But for those of you who have retained that "Mr. Wizard" frisson when encountering new ideas in science, Yeast as a Model Organism, one of six entries in the Knowledge Now in Experimental Biology series, offers an intriguing look at research that may have major implications for the treatment of cancer in the future. Combining interviews with scientists, animated sequences, and microphotography, the program shows how researchers first created a cell division cycle mutation and then isolated the gene where the cycle broke down. Since cancer is primarily a case of the cell division cycle gone out of control, and the cycle (as well as the components) are basically the same in humans as in yeast, the results of this new work can be applied to the perplexing problem of cancer. While an informed layperson can follow the methodology (basic Bacon) and concepts (if you remember your Mendelian genetics), this is really aimed more at the college level student, and is therefore recommended for academic health and science libraries. The other titles in the series look at a nematode, the mouse, phage lambda, drosophila, and Arabidopsis as model organisms for various genetic studies. Aud: C. (R. Pitman)