information on advances in three categories: (1) basic knowledge, (2) ap­ plied research and development, and (3) commercial and institutional issues. We hope the presentation of the topics will generate interest and interaction among readers in the academic world, government, and industry. This first volume examines chemical and biological properties of some natural products that are useful or potentially useful in research and in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. One chapter describes a system for producing such substances on a large scale. Biotechnology incorporates molecular biology in order to go beyond tradi­ tional biochemical technology such as the production of antibiotic drugs from bacterial cultures in bioreactors. Development of the technology for production of antibiotics in this way resulted from fundamental advances in chemistry, phar­ macology, microbiology, and biochemical engineering.