165
Principles of Biochemistry
by H R H o r t o n , L A M o r a n , R S Ochs, J D R a w n and K
G Scrimgeour. pp 675. Nell Patterson Publishers, Prentice
•Hall Inc. 1993. £27.95 or $49.95 ISBN 0-13-042409-9
This constitutes the sixth textbook of biochemistry published in
North America that I have received during the past 12 months.
The others are Devlin (3 e, 1992, pp 1157), Abeles, Frey and
Jencks (1992, pp 822), Bhagavan (2 e, 1992, pp 926), Lehninger,
Nelson and Cox (2 e, 1993, pp 1013) and Zubay (3 e, 1993, pp
1024). Happily, the newcomer contains only some 675 pages of
text and weighs 1.5 kg (or about as much as Bhagavan which
comes in smaller format and much less than the 2-2.8 kg of the
others). This flood of new editions and new entrants into the
textbook field reflects the ever-increasing importance of bio-
chemistry in present-day higher education. The very notable
advances which have occurred at an ever-faster pace during the
past four decades or so have driven the current position of
Biochemistry as the foundation for all biological sciences. There
is room for the larger and more encyclopedic books for
undergraduate or graduate students specialising in the subject,
as there is for the smaller books directed at other students and
which give greater emphasis to general principles than to
detailed encyclopedic coverage.
Of the authors three are American (Horton is professor of
Biochemistry at North Carolina State University; Ochs is
assistant professor of Nutrition at Case Western Reserve
University; while Rawn is professor of Chemistry at Lawson
State University) and two are Canadian (Moran and Scrimgeour
are professors of Biochemistry at University of Toronto).
Although Rawn did not actually write material for this book, his
previous textbook served as a source of information and ideas.
This explains why a superficial look at this book recalls Rawn's
which had the same publisher nearly four years ago. Horton and
his colleagues have produced a good introduction to the
excitement that is Biochemsitry (which, of course, includes
Molecular Biology). It is appropriate for a one or two semester
course and as a preparation for more detailed study of the
subject. A direct, crisp writing style and many colorful,
attractive, clear and informative illustrations are amongst its
greatest attractions.
The text is organised into four parts. Two chapters on
Biochemistry and on water constitute the Introduction. The
second part is about Structure and Functions of Biomolecules.
This comprises two chapters on amino acids and proteins, three
on enzymes and coenzymes, and one each on carbohydrates,
lipids and nucleic acids. Part three is about Metabolism and
Bioenergetics. It contains chapters on glycolysis, the citric acid
cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, other aspects of carbohydrate
metabolism, photosynthesis (this was written by Dr Willy Katz
of Agriculture Canada, Nova Scotia), and the metabolism of
lipids, amino acids and nucleotides. Biological Information Flow
is the subject of the final part whose three chapters deal with
D N A replication and repair, transcription and RNA processing,
and protein synthesis.
I was pleasantly surprised to find here re-evaluation of the role
of citrate and of multimerisation of acetylCoA carboxylase, and
of the path taken by fumarate produced from asparate in the
urea cycle (and of a couple of other reactions in synthesis of
purines and of adenine) which, in effect, abolishes the notion of
a so-called Krebs Bi-Cycle. I was similarly surprised by the brief
but apt descriptions of glycogenin and its role in priming
glycogen synthesis, of glucose-6-phosphatase activity being
comprised of a G6P transporter in endoplasmic reticulum and a
non specific hydrolase, and of the biochemistry of nitric oxide
(which has become so topical). These exemplify how emphasis
on principles need not imply exclusion, and how effective brevity
can be.
BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION 21(3) 1993
I missed mention (amongst others) of ~/-carboxyglutamate, the
role of vitamin K as a coenzyme, and of prothrombin; of et
oxidation and phytanic acid; of synthesis of creatine and
adrenaline; of bilirubin; of diphtheria and cholera toxins; of
thyroxine and iodine; of signal peptides and signal recognition
particle; of apo B-100 and apo B-48; of zinc fingers, leucine
zippers, steroid hormone receptors and tyrosine kinases; of
dolichol and biosynthesis of N-linked glycoproteins; of the two-
polypeptide structure of insulin; and of proinsulin. I would have
liked to see more than a passing mention of immunogiobulins,
models of structure of receptors for insulin, adrenaline and
LDL, more on the current understanding of various types of
membrane proteins based on their amino acid sequences, more
on hormones in general and the trimeric G proteins, and more
on secreted proteins.
I agree with the quotation from A N Whitehead - - 'seek
simplicity and distrust it' - - which heads the publisher's preface,
but would emphasise the latter part of the quotation. This is
done masterfully when very complex subject matter is
presented with clarity, simplicity and excitement in the last three
chapters and elsewhere. Deletion of several illustrations or
tables which duplicate information, and better utilization of
available space could have permitted inclusion of the topics
mentioned above without any increase in the size of the book.
The book I received contained no end-of-chapter problems
(but includes lists of selected readings), no Glossary or
Appendices. I noted few serious errors. One that particularly
sticks in my mind is the definition of jaundice as 'the yellowing of
skin as a result of the inability of liver to recycle bile salts' p 12.25).
All in all, the book represents an impressive effort by the authors
and publishers. They have produced an attractive and useful book
which will attract attention wherever introductory courses of
biochemistry are presented.
F. Vella
The Machinery of Life
by D S Goodsell. pp 140. Springer-Verlag, N e w Y o r k ,
1993. D M 58 ISBN 3-540-97846-1
Not a day seems to go by without the newspapers or other media
of mass communication heralding another 'breakthrough' or
significant discovery that has been produced by the techniques of
biochemistry and molecular biology. This situation has arisen
because of the fascinating and pervasive advances that have
occurred during the past four decades or so in molecular
biological science. It has become essential that the new knowl-
edge and the powerful paradigm that have resulted be presented
to the general public or the nonscientific lay reader as clearly and
simply as possible. Otherwise these 'breakthroughs' and dis-
coveries will have little or no meaning for the general population
and may, in fact, increase the seemingly ever-widening gap
between the world of science and the man or woman in the
street. In a world shaped so much by science and technology
(and biological sciences and biotechnology have played a large
role in this) and one in which scientific literacy is at a lower than
desirable level, a book on the machinery of life written with the
nonscientist and the lay reader in mind should be very welcome
as a tool for increasing scientific literacy and for narrowing the
gap just alluded to.
The author is described on the dust jacket as a researcher in X-
ray crystallography, computational chemistry and computer
graphics at Scripps Research Institute (at La Jolla) and the
Molecular Biology Institute at UCLA. His expertise in, and
fascination with, the shapes, functions and interrelations of the
molecules of living organisms is especially evident in the
illustrations. His interest in sharing his insights into life processes