The Fourth Course of the International School of Pure and Applied Biostructure, a NATO Advanced Study Institute, was held September 18-31, 1983 at the Ettore Majorana Center for Scientific Culture in Erice, Sicily. The subject of the Fourth Course, which was co-sponsored by national and international agencies, was "Structure and Function of the Genetic "Appara­ tus. " Participants from 15 countries around the world attended the course. The study of the genetic apparatus is one of humanity's most challeng­ ing problems, and it has been approached in the tradition of the School from many different points of view, among them biochemistry, genetic eng­ ineering, cell biology, oncology, biophysics and other fields. It has been most difficult to confine such diverse points of view, as well as their pro­ ponents, within the four walls of one room, in front of one audience - es­ pecially since the heterogeneity of background and the inherent difficul­ ties encountered in communication could overshadow the true spirit of sci­ entific exchange. We are once again pleased to say the outcome of the 1983 Course has matched the success of the previous course held in Erice on the same subject five years ago. This book is the result of the 1983 Advanced Study Institute, and aims to present a cohesive, interdisciplinary view of the current knowledge on the structure and fuction of the genetic apparatus.

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Hydrodynamics, Thermodynamics and Scattering Properties: Nucleic Acids, Nucleosomes and Chromatin.- Significant Local Mobility in Double Stranded DNA and RNA.- Conformational Change of DNA in Specific Recognition Complexes Between DNA and Protein.- Nucleosome Motion: Evidence and Models.- The Structure of Satellite-Containing Chromatin of Rat.- The Nuclear Matrix: An Organizing Structure for the Interphase Nucleus and Chromosome.- Nuclear Structure Modifications in the Control of Gene Expression and Cell Function.- Organization and Cell Cycle Periodic Expression of Human Histones Genes.- The tRNAAsp-AsPartyl-tRNA Synthetase System from Yeast: Structural and Functional Studies.- Diffraction Studies on Crystals of Ribosomal Particles.- Understanding Cancer - The Need for a Broad and Integrated Scientific Approach.- Photograph.- Participants.