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In this fascinating book, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist muses on various aspects of biochemistry, explaining the chemical basis for many biological phenomena. Drawing on his own experiences as well as on colorful anecdotes about the work of other scientists, Bloch presents a new way of looking at the world and a revealing glimpse into the ways that scientific discoveries are made and problems are solved. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

the world, as a conglomeration of chemical substances
This is a wonderful tour of a discipline that has been dismissed as far less sexy (less "ultimate") than cosmology or nanotechnology:the realm of biochemistry.Bloch sets out to change the impression of chemistry as a dull discipline - with great success.

The story of biochemistry, as he tells it, is full of riddles and surprises.It began in 1897, when Eduard Buchner ground up yeast cell with sand, plugged them into a bottle, and woke up to find the cork had popped out during the night.Seemingly so banal, this discovery overturned the "vitalist" notion of the processes of life, that they could operate solely in intact, living cells.It proved, instead, that cell physiology could be studied as purely chemical reactions.The next 50 years, which Bloch describes as the Golden Age of biochem, witnessed the discovery of enzymes and other molecules behine innumerable chemical processes.And the methods that scientists used were similar to those of Buchner:grind up cells to free their chemical constituents, and then attempt to predict their behavior under a variety of conditions.

Among the many notable repercussions of these experiments was the development of the science of nutrition - by isolating, purifying, and uncovering the molecular structure of amino acids, fatty acids, and vitamins.Once identified, researchers could experiment to find what combination led to better health.

But Bloch doesn't stop with these, and many similar, observations.In a series of delightful extrapolations, he explains why domestic cats need to hunt (they can't synthesize the amino acid taurine, so must find it in the meat of animals who can); how dark latin venetians used soap to bleach their hair blond (a hydrogen peroxide reaction that sunlight enabled); or the reasons that Amerindians ground corn meal on limestone (they needed a certain chemical added to corn to avoid developing bari bari).

Bloch also offers glimpses into the unknown, areas that are not yet explained but hold promising applications.The list is so long that the book must be read:they include the potential uses of thalidomide, insect secretions that might protect us, and the like.It is truly dazzling.What you get is a personal portrait of a vital field that the author, a Harvard Nobel Laureate, helped to create.The writing is also clear and vivid, never dry.

Warmly recommended.

I wish there were more books like this!
A real treat & unfortunately rare.I wish there were more books that focused on biochemistry (& chemistry) in such a manner.I very much hope that this author produces more of this delightful style of scientificwriting... inquiring minds really do want to know.I thank the author forwriting this book--I enjoyed it immensely, & very much appreciate ithaving been written. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Konrad E. Bloch, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 584 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
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• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Konrad Emil Bloch, Hermann Emil Fischer, Samuel Mitja Rapoport, Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, Adolf Butenandt, Eduard Buchner, Richard Kuhn, Otto Fritz Meyerhof, Robert Huber, Rudolph Schoenheimer, Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, Hartmut Michel, Johann Deisenhofer, Carl Neuberg, Johanna Budwig, Frederic Vester, Wolfram Saenger, Alfred Gottschalk, Thomas Tuschl, Christian Haass, Leonor Michaelis, Ernst Leopold Salkowski, Wolfram Bode, Patrick Cramer, J. Heinrich Matthaei, Thomas Carell, Matthias Mann, Heinz-Günter Wittmann, Adolf Mayer, David Nachmansohn, Gerhard Braunitzer. Excerpt:Adolf Butenandt Adolf Friedrich Johann Butenandt (24 March 1903 18 January 1995) was a German biochemist and member of the Nazi party . He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1939 for his "work on sex hormones ." He initially rejected the award in accordance with government policy, but accepted it in 1949 after World War II . Biography Born in Lehe, near Bremerhaven , he started his studies at the University of Marburg . For his Ph.D he joined the working group of the Nobel laureate Adolf Windaus at the University of Göttingen and he finished his studies with a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1927. Estrone Adolf Windaus and Walter Schöller of Schering gave him the advice to work on hormones extraced from ovaries . This research lead to the discovery of estrone and other primary female sex hormones , which were extracted from several thousand liters of urine . For this research he won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1939 together with Leopold Ru i ka who was involved in the synthesis of several newly discovered steroids. After his Habilitation he became lecturer in Göttingen 1931. He was professor at the Technical University of Danzig 1933, and after a visit in the US, he became director of the Kaiser Wilhe... ... Read more

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Chapters: Isaac Asimov, Linus Pauling, Kary Mullis, Konrad Emil Bloch, Walter Gilbert, Gregory Goodwin Pincus, Stanley B. Prusiner, Martin Kamen, Gerty Cori, Michael Behe, Roger Y. Tsien, Joseph L. Goldstein, Mila Rechcigl, Robert K. Crane, Martin Rodbell, Miguel Ondetti, James B. Aguayo-Martel, Marshall Warren Nirenberg, Selman Waksman, Joseph S. Fruton, Joseph Schlessinger, Philip Handler, Arthur Kornberg, Carl Ferdinand Cori, Rashad Khalifa, Samuel Mitja Rapoport, Roy Mackal, Tuan Vo-Dinh, Kenneth Breslauer, Jane S. Richardson, Orange Judd, Merrill Garnett, Conrad Elvehjem, Ralph F. Hirschmann, Edwin G. Krebs, Paul D. Boyer, Robert Bruce Merrifield, Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, Robert F. Furchgott, Edward D. Goldberg, Bruce Alberts, Gideon Dreyfuss, Irwin Gunsalus, Mahlon Hoagland, Arieh Warshel, Lawrence Joseph Henderson, Paul Berg, Efraim Racker, David Sanders, Marvin Makinen, Edmond H. Fischer, Sam Ruben, Arthur Pardee, Sheldon Segal, John Jacob Abel, George Church, Rollin Hotchkiss, Marie Maynard Daly, Wendell Meredith Stanley, Ida Pauline Rolf, Elmer L. Gaden, Harvey Itano, David S. Mckay, John C. Sanford, Lewis Joel Greene, Myron L. Bender, Charles Glen King, Nancy Andrews, Lorene Rogers, William Jencks, Gertrude B. Elion, Severo Ochoa, J. Edwin Seegmiller, Bernard Brodie, Robert W. Holley, Joseph Samachson, Annette Salmeen, Vincent Du Vigneaud, Edward Adelbert Doisy, Horace Barker, Karl Paul Link, Carl Niemann, Thomas A. Steitz, Edwin B. Hart, Angela Belcher, Otto Folin, Bruce Ames, Lubert Stryer, Laura Manuelidis, William D. Mcelroy, Albert L. Lehninger, Jonathan Dordick, Helmut Beinert, Donald Voet, Elvin A. Kabat, Michael H. Gelb, Mark Griep, Michael M. Gottesman, Henry A. Lardy, Gilbert Chu, David Lester, Judith G. Voet, Robert H. Burris, Hans Neurath, Michael Somogyi, Christian R. H. Raetz, Stanford Moore, Bertil Hille, Vernon L. Schramm, Elmer Mccollum, Daniel Kraft, Christopher T. Walsh, Christopher Chang, W. Wal...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=14573 ... Read more