Experimental science is a complicated creature. At the head there is a Gordian knot of ideas and hypotheses; behind is the accumulated mass of decades of research. Only the laboratory methods, the legs which propel science forward, remain firmly in touch with the ground. Growth, however is uneven; dinosaurs develop by solid means to give a vast body of results, but few ideas. Others sprint briefly to success with brilliant, though ill-supported, ideas. The problems which this book addresses is to maintain an organic unity between new ideas and the current profusion of innovative experimental tools. Only then can we have the framework on which our research thoughts may flourish. The contributors are outstanding scientists in their respective fields and they record here in a clear manner the methodology with which they perform their experiments. They also illustrate some of their most exciting findings. In all chapters the emphasis is on the critical analysis of the methodology which is often avoided in refereed Journals. These techniques are explained in this book in adequate detail. Each chapter is extensively referenced and contains the most recent material available from author's laboratory at the time of going to press.
