3 Review(s)

The constantly expanding terrain covered by biochemistry ranges from the study of the molecular make-up of cells to the great underlying issues of the origin, nature and unity of life. Biochemists, claims Steven Rose, Professor of Biology at the Open University, are concerned with four main themes: the chemistry of living cells, how such chemicals are interconverted, and how cells maintain their structures and special functions. In starting from first principles and offering lucid accounts of all these topics, he also provides marvellously concise accounts of energy metabolism and the role of enzymes, and of information trafficking within and between cells by way of DNA and proteins. First published in 1966 and now an established classic, The Chemistry of Life continues to hold its own as a clear and authoritative introductory text. While retaining its emphasis on biochemistry rather than molecular biology, this fourth edition has been fully updated and revised to include the latest developments in DNA and protein synthesis, cell regulation and immunology, and reflections on their social and medical implications.