Contributions presented at the International Symposium BIOTECH RIA 88, held in Florence, Italy, April 1988. Describes new methodologies aimed at improving the detection of genetic defects at the molecular level; presents data on the use of monoclonal antibodies as an important tool in diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of human tumors. One section focuses on the presentation of HIV studies, based on recent diagnostic assays and on seroepidemiological characterization of the infection. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.