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Fibrous Proteins: Scientific, Medical and Industrial Aspects
Fibrous Proteins: Scientific, Medical and Industrial Aspects Volumes 1 and 2 E d i t e d b y D. A. D. L. K . C r e a m e r
Parry
and
Academic Press Volume 1, 1979, xviii +508 pp., £19.80 US $46.00; Volume 2, 1980, x v i + 2 5 8 pp., £13.00, US $30.00 The fibrous proteins have served in the past as models for the development of new techniques and as types of emerging ideas on molecular structure. These volumes indicate that this is still a very lively field in which the central significance of fibrous proteins in biology and medicine is clearly apparent and their role as stimulants to the academic development of structural molecular biology continues undiminished. The principal fibrous proteins muscle, collagen, keratin and fibrinogen are the main subject of the books, though silk is omitted. The two volumes result from an international symposium on fibrous pro-
teins held in New Zealand in February 1979 and each is a collection of review articles by a wide range of authors. The aim was to cover scientific, medical and industrial aspects of the subject. The first aspect is dealt with very well indeed and perhaps the only failure of the enterprise is to get into the second two aspects in comparable depth, though some attempt is made. As in most collections of reviews like this there are some examples of the recent quote in The Economist that 'some researchers are not so much unproductive as dull'. However, this is a minority only and the organizers must be congratulated in that some of the reviews are of the very highest quality. The chef-d'oeuvre is surely that on the time-resolved studies on contracting muscle followed very closely, for me at least, by that on the molecular and fibril structure of collagen. It is a measure of the activity in this field that since they were written both of these articles have been dated by publications mainly from their authors' own laboratories. Two or three decades ago it was studies on the secondary structure of the fibrous pro-
Errata ' M o d e l for hyaluronic acid i n c o r p o r a t i n g four intramolecular h y d r o g e n bonds', E. D. T. Atkins, D. M e a d e r and J. E. Scott Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 1980, 2, 318-319 Page 319, in the References, references 5 and 6 should
read: 5 Heatley, F., Scott, J. E. a n d Casu, B. Carbohydr. Res. 1979, 72, 13 6 Scott, J. E. and Heatley, F. Biochem. J. 1979, 181,445 The a u t h o r s apologize for these errors.
teins which, both in the development of techniques such as the analysis of diffraction by helices, and in the exemplification of standard structures such as the a-helix and fl-sheet, shed light on other areas of molecular biology. Now it is molecular arrangement which is interesting, how complex organelles are built up by intermolecular recognition and assembly and how such assemblies function. Here the linearity of the fibrous proteins provided a simplification which allowed a solution to some problems such as the relation between amino acid sequence and self-assembly. Nearly all significant theories such as this and important developments in technique are discussed somewhere in this series. These volumes do not replace the standard textbook on fibrous proteins ('let him who hears, understand') for they are different in intent. But they are worthy and essential companions to the textbook for researchers and teachers in this
subject. A. Miller
Fibrous Proteins Scientific. Industrial and Medical Aspects Volumes 1 and 2 edited by D.A.D. Parry and L.K. Creamer Volume 1 : 1979, xviii + 508pp., O. 12.545701.4 £19.80 (UK only) / ~46.00 Volume 2: April 1980, xvi + 258pp., O. 12.545702.2
£13.oo (UK on/y) / $30.00
These two volumes are based on an International Conference held at Massey University, New Zealand in 1979. The papers given have been collected in volume one, presenting the most comprehensive resume of the subject available. The scientific, industrial and medical aspects of each of the following four subject areas are considered: muscle and meat, collagen and leather, keratin and wool and finally, 'other fibrous proteins' such as elastin, fibrinogen and silk. Volume two further expands the field with exploration into new areas of research.
Academic Press
A Subsidiary o f Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers
®
London New York Toronto Sydney San Francisco 24-28Oval Road, London NW1 7DX, England 111 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003, USA
Int. J. Biol. M a c r o m o l . , 1981, Vol 3, F e b r u a r y
63
Parry
and
Academic Press Volume 1, 1979, xviii +508 pp., £19.80 US $46.00; Volume 2, 1980, x v i + 2 5 8 pp., £13.00, US $30.00 The fibrous proteins have served in the past as models for the development of new techniques and as types of emerging ideas on molecular structure. These volumes indicate that this is still a very lively field in which the central significance of fibrous proteins in biology and medicine is clearly apparent and their role as stimulants to the academic development of structural molecular biology continues undiminished. The principal fibrous proteins muscle, collagen, keratin and fibrinogen are the main subject of the books, though silk is omitted. The two volumes result from an international symposium on fibrous pro-
teins held in New Zealand in February 1979 and each is a collection of review articles by a wide range of authors. The aim was to cover scientific, medical and industrial aspects of the subject. The first aspect is dealt with very well indeed and perhaps the only failure of the enterprise is to get into the second two aspects in comparable depth, though some attempt is made. As in most collections of reviews like this there are some examples of the recent quote in The Economist that 'some researchers are not so much unproductive as dull'. However, this is a minority only and the organizers must be congratulated in that some of the reviews are of the very highest quality. The chef-d'oeuvre is surely that on the time-resolved studies on contracting muscle followed very closely, for me at least, by that on the molecular and fibril structure of collagen. It is a measure of the activity in this field that since they were written both of these articles have been dated by publications mainly from their authors' own laboratories. Two or three decades ago it was studies on the secondary structure of the fibrous pro-
Errata ' M o d e l for hyaluronic acid i n c o r p o r a t i n g four intramolecular h y d r o g e n bonds', E. D. T. Atkins, D. M e a d e r and J. E. Scott Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 1980, 2, 318-319 Page 319, in the References, references 5 and 6 should
read: 5 Heatley, F., Scott, J. E. a n d Casu, B. Carbohydr. Res. 1979, 72, 13 6 Scott, J. E. and Heatley, F. Biochem. J. 1979, 181,445 The a u t h o r s apologize for these errors.
teins which, both in the development of techniques such as the analysis of diffraction by helices, and in the exemplification of standard structures such as the a-helix and fl-sheet, shed light on other areas of molecular biology. Now it is molecular arrangement which is interesting, how complex organelles are built up by intermolecular recognition and assembly and how such assemblies function. Here the linearity of the fibrous proteins provided a simplification which allowed a solution to some problems such as the relation between amino acid sequence and self-assembly. Nearly all significant theories such as this and important developments in technique are discussed somewhere in this series. These volumes do not replace the standard textbook on fibrous proteins ('let him who hears, understand') for they are different in intent. But they are worthy and essential companions to the textbook for researchers and teachers in this
subject. A. Miller
Fibrous Proteins Scientific. Industrial and Medical Aspects Volumes 1 and 2 edited by D.A.D. Parry and L.K. Creamer Volume 1 : 1979, xviii + 508pp., O. 12.545701.4 £19.80 (UK only) / ~46.00 Volume 2: April 1980, xvi + 258pp., O. 12.545702.2
£13.oo (UK on/y) / $30.00
These two volumes are based on an International Conference held at Massey University, New Zealand in 1979. The papers given have been collected in volume one, presenting the most comprehensive resume of the subject available. The scientific, industrial and medical aspects of each of the following four subject areas are considered: muscle and meat, collagen and leather, keratin and wool and finally, 'other fibrous proteins' such as elastin, fibrinogen and silk. Volume two further expands the field with exploration into new areas of research.
Academic Press
A Subsidiary o f Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers
®
London New York Toronto Sydney San Francisco 24-28Oval Road, London NW1 7DX, England 111 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003, USA
Int. J. Biol. M a c r o m o l . , 1981, Vol 3, F e b r u a r y
63