(...)Expectations are rather low for yet another volume on nucleotides: this one is based on a meeting in the summer of 1998 held in Leipzig. Yet, even hackneyed reviewers will have to concede that this volume does try hard to break the mould. In fact, it contains some real gems.(...)If you are in the field, you will want the book; the elation comes in the few outstanding chapters. If you are outside the field, you will certainly find these accounts authoritative and stimulating(...) Trends in Neurosciences (R.A. North, University of Sheffield).