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Biochemistry: An introduction
Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 1964, Vol. 12, pp. 445 to 448. Pergamon Press Ltd. Printed in Great Britain
BOOK REVIEWS SOME RECENT TEXTBOOKS THE exponential rate of accumulation of scientific information presents a continuing and increasing challenge to the college and university teacher and to the writer of textbooks. Specialties proliferate, and interdisciplinary fields come to full status as separate disciplines, with university departments, professorships, courses and curricula of their own. T h e teacher concerned with elementary instruction finds his task of selecting material for the attention of his pupils increasingly difficult. T h e student of biology or the professional student in medicine, pharmacy and many another field related to biology finds subjects such as biochemistry or biophysics so barricaded behind a formidable array of prerequisites as to be nearly inaccessible. T h e secondary teacher, trained in an older and simpler tradition, finds himself hopelessly out of touch so that he may be unable to interpret current newspaper accounts of science to his classes. Yet a full course in biochemistry, for example, might take 2-4 years of study he can ill afford. Each of the five books under review, in one way or another, attacks aspects of this problem by attempting to present, for a relatively elementary audience, the essentials of subjects that have come into prominence in the present century, or even in the last few decades, and that have wide importance in modern biology and the related professions. There are many pitfalls in the path of an author who attempts this task. Th e most obvious is that of superficiality; in trying to present a little of everything, he may end by presenting not much of anything. T h e aspect of superficiality that troubles me most is not the matter of subjects included or excluded, or the amount of space given to this or that subject, though these may be important. I am personally more concerned that, in presenting selected material from a complex and difficult body of knowledge, we may lose sight completely of the sources of that knowledge. In my experience with secondary teachers returning to the university for additional study, and with recent college and university graduates beginning post-graduate study, I find the most common failing to be, not so much a lack of knowledge of the conclusions currently accepted in specialized fields, as a complete lack of understanding of the observational and logical bases of these conclusions. I introduce this personal note here primarily to indicate the bias which may be evident in my comments to follow but also to state my real concern that as our knowledge becomes more extensive, it will, in the minds of all but the investigators themselves, become increasingly authoritative and static. T h e result could be the death of science as we know it, and a repetition of the collapse of free investigation that we have seen once before, in the ancient Hellenistic world.
Biochemistry: An Introduction. P. H. JELLINCK. viii + 308 pp. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, NewYork. 1963. $6.00. Theauthorstateshisaimasthatofpresentingbiochemistry in a form that will be understandable to students with only a limited background in organic chemistry and biology. In this aim he has only partly succeeded. Th e presentation is clear, simple and, within the limited space available, comprehensive. But the book begins with a discussion of cell structure and function which is inferior to that presented in most modern texts of elementary biology and will leave the student who has little background in biology rather confused. More serious, in a biochemistry text, is the fact that the statements about osmotic pressure are not precise, and will do nothing to dispel the confusion that usually surrounds this topic in the minds of beginners. T h e second chapter deals with metabolism and methodology and is far better; it describes, briefly and uncritically but clearly, the basic techniques used in the study of metabolism. There follow chapters on proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids, cellular oxidation and 445
446
BOOK REVIEWS
photosynthesis, carbohydrates, carbohydrate metabolism, lipids and fat metabolism, protein metabolism, vitamins and hormones, covering the classical material of biochemisty in a reasonably up-to-date fashion. Th e presentation is entirely descriptive. Thus, in discussing the mode of action of enzymes, the author states the concept of energy of activation without any indication of the basis of the concept. He defines in one sentence and illustrates in a figure the Michaelis constant, without indicating the origin in experimental observations of this concept or its significance in our understanding of enzyme action. He does, as he says in the preface, mention the names of outstanding biochemists in connexion with their discoveries, but the student is left with the largely fallacious view that biochemistry is built up of a large number of isolated facts, ideas, and "discoveries", with no concept of their development or interrelations, and the bibliography offered is too limited to encourage much further exploration. A serious effort has been made to include mention of the most recent work on genetic control of protein synthesis and other fashionable topics, but some concepts, older and now largely abandoned, such as the hexokinase theory of insulin action and the actomyosin hypothesis of Szent-Gy6rgyi for muscle contraction, are presented as established. Moreover, large and significant areas, such as the three-dimensional structures of proteins, the role of the electron transport system in oxidative phosphorylation and the energy relations of cells, are completely omitted or only mentioned in passing. T h e student who reads this book will find a readable and mostly accurate description of the state of part of our biochemical knowledge in 1962. If he comes back in 1972, he will be very much surprised to find that much of what he learned 10 years earlier is no longer "true", and I doubt very much if he will understand how that change has occurred.
Essentials o f Biological C h e m i s t r y . J. L. FAIRLEY and G. L. KIL(;OUR. xiii + 287 pp. Reinhold, New York, 1963. $7.50. T h e basic aim of the authors of this book is the same as Jellinck's, but the approach is different. This book approaches biochemistry from the chemical rather than the biological side, in that the first chapters deal with organic chemistry rather than with biology, and cells appear only in the seventh chapter, where the study of metabolism is introduced. Throughout, the emphasis is on chemical components of, and chemical processes in, living organisms. T h e thirteen chapters deal, in order, with organic chemistry, proteins, carbohydrates, lipides, nucleic acids, enzymes, an introduction to metabolism, energy transfer, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, metabolic control and the special biochemistry of mammals. Th e treatment is descriptive, but some of the experimental evidence and the reasoning behind the more important concepts is introduced. Th e sections on enzyme action, on energetics, on the electron transport system, on glycogenesis and glycogenolysis, on the interrelations of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and on cellular control mechanisms are remarkably clear and accurate for this level of presentation. A few points will require elaboration by the teacher: for example, the concept of pH and that of the hydrogen bond are brought in early and without explanation. This text will not serve for professional preparation in biochemistry. It will give, to students in areas where superficial biochemical knowledge is important, an excellent introduction to the current state of information, together with some indication of how this information was obtained. It is a more "difficult" book than Jellinck's both because it is more uncompromisingly chemical in orientation, and because it is less clearly and simply written. But, on the whole, it will serve the student better. C e l l Structure and Function. A. G. LOEWY and P. SIEKEVITZ. viii+ 228 pp. (paper bound). Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York. 1963. $2.95. Th e aim of this book is quite different from those of the two previously considered. Th e authors point out that "the past decade has witnessed an explosive accumulation of insights into the molecular machinery of the cell", and state their purpose "to document these exciting developments and to make them accessible to the introductory student". T h e text is divided into three parts, subtitled
BOOK REVIEWS SOME RECENT TEXTBOOKS THE exponential rate of accumulation of scientific information presents a continuing and increasing challenge to the college and university teacher and to the writer of textbooks. Specialties proliferate, and interdisciplinary fields come to full status as separate disciplines, with university departments, professorships, courses and curricula of their own. T h e teacher concerned with elementary instruction finds his task of selecting material for the attention of his pupils increasingly difficult. T h e student of biology or the professional student in medicine, pharmacy and many another field related to biology finds subjects such as biochemistry or biophysics so barricaded behind a formidable array of prerequisites as to be nearly inaccessible. T h e secondary teacher, trained in an older and simpler tradition, finds himself hopelessly out of touch so that he may be unable to interpret current newspaper accounts of science to his classes. Yet a full course in biochemistry, for example, might take 2-4 years of study he can ill afford. Each of the five books under review, in one way or another, attacks aspects of this problem by attempting to present, for a relatively elementary audience, the essentials of subjects that have come into prominence in the present century, or even in the last few decades, and that have wide importance in modern biology and the related professions. There are many pitfalls in the path of an author who attempts this task. Th e most obvious is that of superficiality; in trying to present a little of everything, he may end by presenting not much of anything. T h e aspect of superficiality that troubles me most is not the matter of subjects included or excluded, or the amount of space given to this or that subject, though these may be important. I am personally more concerned that, in presenting selected material from a complex and difficult body of knowledge, we may lose sight completely of the sources of that knowledge. In my experience with secondary teachers returning to the university for additional study, and with recent college and university graduates beginning post-graduate study, I find the most common failing to be, not so much a lack of knowledge of the conclusions currently accepted in specialized fields, as a complete lack of understanding of the observational and logical bases of these conclusions. I introduce this personal note here primarily to indicate the bias which may be evident in my comments to follow but also to state my real concern that as our knowledge becomes more extensive, it will, in the minds of all but the investigators themselves, become increasingly authoritative and static. T h e result could be the death of science as we know it, and a repetition of the collapse of free investigation that we have seen once before, in the ancient Hellenistic world.
Biochemistry: An Introduction. P. H. JELLINCK. viii + 308 pp. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, NewYork. 1963. $6.00. Theauthorstateshisaimasthatofpresentingbiochemistry in a form that will be understandable to students with only a limited background in organic chemistry and biology. In this aim he has only partly succeeded. Th e presentation is clear, simple and, within the limited space available, comprehensive. But the book begins with a discussion of cell structure and function which is inferior to that presented in most modern texts of elementary biology and will leave the student who has little background in biology rather confused. More serious, in a biochemistry text, is the fact that the statements about osmotic pressure are not precise, and will do nothing to dispel the confusion that usually surrounds this topic in the minds of beginners. T h e second chapter deals with metabolism and methodology and is far better; it describes, briefly and uncritically but clearly, the basic techniques used in the study of metabolism. There follow chapters on proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids, cellular oxidation and 445
446
BOOK REVIEWS
photosynthesis, carbohydrates, carbohydrate metabolism, lipids and fat metabolism, protein metabolism, vitamins and hormones, covering the classical material of biochemisty in a reasonably up-to-date fashion. Th e presentation is entirely descriptive. Thus, in discussing the mode of action of enzymes, the author states the concept of energy of activation without any indication of the basis of the concept. He defines in one sentence and illustrates in a figure the Michaelis constant, without indicating the origin in experimental observations of this concept or its significance in our understanding of enzyme action. He does, as he says in the preface, mention the names of outstanding biochemists in connexion with their discoveries, but the student is left with the largely fallacious view that biochemistry is built up of a large number of isolated facts, ideas, and "discoveries", with no concept of their development or interrelations, and the bibliography offered is too limited to encourage much further exploration. A serious effort has been made to include mention of the most recent work on genetic control of protein synthesis and other fashionable topics, but some concepts, older and now largely abandoned, such as the hexokinase theory of insulin action and the actomyosin hypothesis of Szent-Gy6rgyi for muscle contraction, are presented as established. Moreover, large and significant areas, such as the three-dimensional structures of proteins, the role of the electron transport system in oxidative phosphorylation and the energy relations of cells, are completely omitted or only mentioned in passing. T h e student who reads this book will find a readable and mostly accurate description of the state of part of our biochemical knowledge in 1962. If he comes back in 1972, he will be very much surprised to find that much of what he learned 10 years earlier is no longer "true", and I doubt very much if he will understand how that change has occurred.
Essentials o f Biological C h e m i s t r y . J. L. FAIRLEY and G. L. KIL(;OUR. xiii + 287 pp. Reinhold, New York, 1963. $7.50. T h e basic aim of the authors of this book is the same as Jellinck's, but the approach is different. This book approaches biochemistry from the chemical rather than the biological side, in that the first chapters deal with organic chemistry rather than with biology, and cells appear only in the seventh chapter, where the study of metabolism is introduced. Throughout, the emphasis is on chemical components of, and chemical processes in, living organisms. T h e thirteen chapters deal, in order, with organic chemistry, proteins, carbohydrates, lipides, nucleic acids, enzymes, an introduction to metabolism, energy transfer, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, metabolic control and the special biochemistry of mammals. Th e treatment is descriptive, but some of the experimental evidence and the reasoning behind the more important concepts is introduced. Th e sections on enzyme action, on energetics, on the electron transport system, on glycogenesis and glycogenolysis, on the interrelations of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and on cellular control mechanisms are remarkably clear and accurate for this level of presentation. A few points will require elaboration by the teacher: for example, the concept of pH and that of the hydrogen bond are brought in early and without explanation. This text will not serve for professional preparation in biochemistry. It will give, to students in areas where superficial biochemical knowledge is important, an excellent introduction to the current state of information, together with some indication of how this information was obtained. It is a more "difficult" book than Jellinck's both because it is more uncompromisingly chemical in orientation, and because it is less clearly and simply written. But, on the whole, it will serve the student better. C e l l Structure and Function. A. G. LOEWY and P. SIEKEVITZ. viii+ 228 pp. (paper bound). Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York. 1963. $2.95. Th e aim of this book is quite different from those of the two previously considered. Th e authors point out that "the past decade has witnessed an explosive accumulation of insights into the molecular machinery of the cell", and state their purpose "to document these exciting developments and to make them accessible to the introductory student". T h e text is divided into three parts, subtitled