Publisher's Synopsis
This volume comprises the papers from the 19th Kumamoto Medical Bioscience Symposium held in Kumamoto, Japan between 7 and 8 November 2002. The papers focus on the frontiers of research related to the cellular, molecular and genetic aspects of the biological response to planned and unplanned injuries. Planned (operation, etc) and unplanned (trauma, infection, etc.) injuries may disturb the homeostasis of living organisms that, in turn, create several biological responses to maintain their homeostasis. The year 2002 was the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA. Using the sophisticated molecular biological techniques, numerous cytokines have been cloned as mediators of biological response since the late 1970s. Such discoveries have provoked a dramatic progression in the research in this field. The Symposium encouraged the exchange of current topics regarding such biological responses from around the world in order to make further advances in controlling them.
