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Search - Discovering Enzymes

Discovering Enzymes
Author: David Dressler, Huntington Potter

Scientific American Library #34 A living organism consists of an enormous set of complex molecules that participate in carefully controlled processes, from the transmission of nerve signals to the digestion of food to the clotting of blood. Each process consists of a highly ordered series of chemical reactions taking place at phenomenal speeds. ... more »And at the heart of these reactions-and thus of life itself-are a group of microscopic machines called enzymes. "Not to put too fine a point on it," say the authors, "enzymes control all of the chemical transformations in the living world." By converting simple environmental molecules into living protoplasm, enzymes summon life out of lifeless atoms. Ever since the first cells arose three billion years ago, enzymes have been gradually diversifying and evolving to generate the full range of life forms that now fill the earth. How do enzymes work? How do these astonishing substances take compounds from the nonliving world and build biologically useful molecules? How do they selectively catalyze some reactions and not others, channeling the activities of living organisms? How have they established the living state and developed the ever more highly organized processes of life? 'Discovering Enzymes' chronicles the discovery and subsequent research that has unlocked the secrets of enzymes. David Dressler-acknowledged as one of the best teachers at Harvard-and Huntington Potter convey the excitement of scientific detective work as they show how the attempt to understand alcoholic fermentation led to the discovery of enzymes, how the key to enzymatic function was uncovered, and how enzymes are isolated and studied at the molecular level. In the second part of the book, the authors show how researchers solved a series of mysteries leading to the complete understanding of one particular set of enzymes. Using the chymotrypsin family of enzymes as a window on the world of enzymes in general, they elucidate the principles that apply to the structure and function of all enzymes and explain how enzymes guide important operations of the digestive, circulatory, and nervous systems. Moreover, the authors teach us that the amazing variety of physiological functions in the human body exist because of the evolution of new yet related enzymes that participate in ever more complex processes. Enhanced by abundant illustrations, 'Discovering Enzymes' is at once a detailed foray into the intellectual development of biochemistry and a wondrous exploration of the seemingly magical catalyst that make our lives, and all life, possible.

ISBN-13: 9780716750130
ISBN-10: 0716750139
Publication Date: 2/1991
Pages: 263
Rating:

Currently 4.5/5 Stars.

4.5 stars, based on 1 rating

Publisher: Scientific American Library
Book Type: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

Genres:

Science & Math >> Biological Sciences >> Biochemistry

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