Nature's Robots: A History of Proteins

by Charles Tanford, Jacqueline Reynolds

Overview

Proteins are amazing molecules. They spark the chemical reactions that form the basis for life, transmit signals in the body, identify and kill foreign invaders, form the engines that make us move, record visual images. For every task in a living organism, there is a protein designed to carry it out.
Nature's Robots is an authoritative history of protein science, from the earliest research in the nineteenth century to the most recent findings today. Tanford and Reynolds, who themselves made major contributions to the golden age of protein science, have written a remarkably vivid account of this history. The authors begin with the research of Berzelius and Mulder into "albumins," the early name for proteins, and the range all the way up to the findings of James Watson and Francis Crick. It is a fascinating story, involving heroes from the past, working mostly alone or in small groups, usually with little support from formal research grants. They capture the growing excitement among scientists as the mysteries of protein structure and function—the core of all the mysteries of life—are revealed little by little. And they include vivid portraits of scientists at work—two researchers, stranded by fog in a Moscow airport, strike up a conversation that leads to a major discovery; a chemist working in a small lab, with little funding, on a problem no one else would tackle, proves that enzymes are proteins—and wins the Nobel Prize.
Written in clear and accessible prose, Nature's Robots will appeal to anyone interested in the peaks and valleys of scientific research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198606949
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/29/2004
Series:	Oxford Paperbacks
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	324
Sales rank:	309,203
Product dimensions:	7.65(w) x 5.05(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

Charles Tanford and Jacqueline Reynolds are both emeritus professors at Duke University. Tanford is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. They live in Easingwold, UK.

Table of Contents

Chemistry1. The naming2. Crystallinity, haemaglobin3. The peptide bond4. Proteins are true macromolecules5. Bristling with charges6. Fibrous proteins7. Analytical imperative8. Amino acid sequence9. Subunits and domainsDetailed Structure10. Early approaches to protein folding11. Hydrogen bonds and the alpha-helix12. Irving Langmuir and the hydrophobic factor13. Three-dimensional structurePhysiological Function14. An ancient and many-sided science15. Are enzymes proteins? 16. Antibodies17. Colour vision18. Muscle contraction19. Cell membranesHow are proteins made?20. The link to genetics21. After the double helix: the triple code22. The new alchemyNotes and ReferencesIndexes