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The Facts of Food
BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION
April 1976 Vol. 4 No. 2
Trends in Biochemical Sciences Editor in Chief: W. J. Whelan. Starting with Vol. 1 No. 1. January 1976.
Essays in Medical Biochemistry, Volume 1 Edited by V. Marks and C. N. Hales. Pp 132. London: The Biochemical Society and the Association of Clinical
Trends in Biochemical Sciences is published in one volume per year (12 monthly issues) for the International Union of Biochemistry, by Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co. , P.O. Box 548, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Personal subscriptions U.S. $24/£11.50/Dfi. 60.- per volume including postage and handling.
B i o c h e m i s t s , 1975. P a p e r b a c k , £ 2 . 0 0 .
The publication of the first issue of Trends in Biochemical. Sciences, jointly by the International Union o f Biochemistry and Elsevier, m a r k s an important new departure in the already almost overwhelming stream of biochemical publications. It is a departure which is both new and welcome because it is intended that by its short review articles it will keep biochemists more informed about fields of work removed from their own specialised areas of research. In this age of increasing specialization and yet at the same time of increasing breadth of biochemistry, and of its increasing penetration into related biological sciences it is more than ever necessary that brief, up-to-date reviews of developing fields, written by specialists in these areas, should be available. It is particularly appropriate also that the International Union of Biochemistry should be the sponsoring body behind this development, since the Union has for many years been active in regard to biochemical nomenclature and the work and objectives of the various national and international biochemical journals. The International Commission on Enzymes was set up in 1955, and its report on the classification and nomenclature of enzymes and coenzymes was published in 1962. A Commission of Editors of Biochemical Journals was established in 1961. With this background and with its international outlook and its interests in biochemical education IUB is well-placed to foster this new and important publication. The inclusion of informative review articles on bacterial chemotaxis biotin enzymes, the structure of chromatin, the ADPribosylation of proteins, the structure of m e m b r a n e transport systems, the primer for glycogen synthesis, the ATPase complex from energy-transducing membranes, and nitrogen fixation, each written by an eminent authority, exemplifies well in this first issue the broad coverage which is intended. Other sections include special articles, meetings reports. emerging techniques, book reviews and a calendar of events in 1976. TIBS has an important educational role to play; the International Union and the Editorial Board are to be congratulated on an imaginative and much-needed new development which has got off to a good start and which has whetted our appetite for future issues. The Wellcome Trust 1 Park Square West
R . H . S . Thompson (Secretary-General of IUB 1947-65)
London, N W l 4LJ
The Facts of Food A r n o l d E. B e n d e r . Pp 176. O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1975. £3.50 cloth, £1.50 paperback. Unlike the title suggests, this book is not a compendium of data; it is a perfectly readable little book on the composition of food. The sixth form student contemplating a career in food science will find this book a useful introduction to the subject. Each chapter consists of a n u m b e r of sub-sections all with separate headings which will encourage use of this book for finding out quickly such things as "what did prehistoric m a n live on", "how m u c h do we need" and "'what are vitamins". However, the text is biased towards nutrition and is virtually devoid of food chemistry. The serious student will have to resort to more standard works on the subject. In hard-back form pp. 167 at £3.75 the book is expensive, but is available in OPUS ed. £1.50. Proctor Dept. of Food & Leather Science David S. Robinson University of Leeds, U.K.
37
This is the first of a series which the Editors hope will be complementary to Essays in Biochemistry in that it will cover those aspects of biochemical knowledge which are of particular relevance to medicine. In the choice of subjects the Editors "have in mind the needs of hospital biochemists and clinicians with an interest in metabolic disease". They hope the essays will be of interest to senior medical and biochemistry students as well as their teachers. This volume contains four essays: (A) "Biochemical Investigation of Hypertension" by Dr. Beevers and his colleagues from the MRC Blood Pressure Unit in Glasgow. (B) "Bile Acid Synthesis: An alternative pathway leading to Hepatotoxic compounds" by Dr. Percy-Robb. (C) "Hyperlactataemia and Lactic Acidosis" by Professor Sir Hans Krebs (to whom this volume is dedicated) and his colleagues Dr. Woods and Professor Alberti. (D) "Bence Jones Proteins" by Professor J. R. Hobbs. These are widely variant topics, but clearly the aim of the Editors is to 'sell' this series on the basis that the topics are those of rapid expansion and therefore of particular interest to the non-expert, and that the essays are pleasant to read rather than exhaustive. At the same time I am sure that the Editors would want this series to illustrate the various types of interaction between biochemistry and medicine. These are all difficult tasks but on the whole I feel that the Editors and authors have been successful in them. The subjects chosen are good ones in that they have each undergone recent expansion and yet each illustrate somewhat different aspects of the interaction between biochemistry and medicine. The Editors have put the most complex and perhaps least familiar subject first in the book. Dr. Beevers and his colleagues have a difficult task in their essay on the "Biochemical investigation of hypertension". But it seems to me that they have attempted a review which is too wide ranging so that some parts are too superficial and are repetitions of what can be found easily in other books; examples are the sections on corticosteroids and Cushing's syndrome. In contrast when they discuss phaeochromocytoma they do not choose between the various measurements used to detect it not do they discuss in any detail the diagnostic specificity of these measurements. They have succeeded in indicating the scope and complexity of the problem but I did not find the first part of the essay "pleasant reading". The section on the renin-angiotensinaldosterone system was however very good reading and could usefully, with expansion, have formed the whole content of the essay. Dr. Percy-Robb's essay on bile acid synthesis is pleasant reading and has something for everyone likely to read the book. His essay illustrates how in vitro experiments and chemical observations have combined to increase our knowledge of the biology of bile acids and of the biochemical basis of several clinical disorders. His discussion of the alternative pathway of bile-acid synthesis has, however, got somewhat lost in the essay. Professor Sir Hans Kreb's essay on lactic acidosis also makes very enjoyable reading. It would give a reader a very sound classification of the disorders associated with accumulations of lactate in blood, and the nature of the metabolic disturbances in these disorders. The section on acidosis is rather heavy going and the authors might have said a little more of what they mean by "a crucial factor (in the production of acidosis) is the loss of base in the urine". The fourth essay by Professor Hobbs on Bence-Jones Proteins is excellent. It illustrates how clinical problems have been identified and their causes unravelled by biochemical investigations and illustrates how many disease aspects an apparently narrow topic can have. On the whole this is a very enjoyable book and sets a high standard for future volumes to maintain. A bargain at the price. D. B. Morgan Department of Chemical Pathology University of Leeds, U.K.
April 1976 Vol. 4 No. 2
Trends in Biochemical Sciences Editor in Chief: W. J. Whelan. Starting with Vol. 1 No. 1. January 1976.
Essays in Medical Biochemistry, Volume 1 Edited by V. Marks and C. N. Hales. Pp 132. London: The Biochemical Society and the Association of Clinical
Trends in Biochemical Sciences is published in one volume per year (12 monthly issues) for the International Union of Biochemistry, by Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co. , P.O. Box 548, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Personal subscriptions U.S. $24/£11.50/Dfi. 60.- per volume including postage and handling.
B i o c h e m i s t s , 1975. P a p e r b a c k , £ 2 . 0 0 .
The publication of the first issue of Trends in Biochemical. Sciences, jointly by the International Union o f Biochemistry and Elsevier, m a r k s an important new departure in the already almost overwhelming stream of biochemical publications. It is a departure which is both new and welcome because it is intended that by its short review articles it will keep biochemists more informed about fields of work removed from their own specialised areas of research. In this age of increasing specialization and yet at the same time of increasing breadth of biochemistry, and of its increasing penetration into related biological sciences it is more than ever necessary that brief, up-to-date reviews of developing fields, written by specialists in these areas, should be available. It is particularly appropriate also that the International Union of Biochemistry should be the sponsoring body behind this development, since the Union has for many years been active in regard to biochemical nomenclature and the work and objectives of the various national and international biochemical journals. The International Commission on Enzymes was set up in 1955, and its report on the classification and nomenclature of enzymes and coenzymes was published in 1962. A Commission of Editors of Biochemical Journals was established in 1961. With this background and with its international outlook and its interests in biochemical education IUB is well-placed to foster this new and important publication. The inclusion of informative review articles on bacterial chemotaxis biotin enzymes, the structure of chromatin, the ADPribosylation of proteins, the structure of m e m b r a n e transport systems, the primer for glycogen synthesis, the ATPase complex from energy-transducing membranes, and nitrogen fixation, each written by an eminent authority, exemplifies well in this first issue the broad coverage which is intended. Other sections include special articles, meetings reports. emerging techniques, book reviews and a calendar of events in 1976. TIBS has an important educational role to play; the International Union and the Editorial Board are to be congratulated on an imaginative and much-needed new development which has got off to a good start and which has whetted our appetite for future issues. The Wellcome Trust 1 Park Square West
R . H . S . Thompson (Secretary-General of IUB 1947-65)
London, N W l 4LJ
The Facts of Food A r n o l d E. B e n d e r . Pp 176. O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1975. £3.50 cloth, £1.50 paperback. Unlike the title suggests, this book is not a compendium of data; it is a perfectly readable little book on the composition of food. The sixth form student contemplating a career in food science will find this book a useful introduction to the subject. Each chapter consists of a n u m b e r of sub-sections all with separate headings which will encourage use of this book for finding out quickly such things as "what did prehistoric m a n live on", "how m u c h do we need" and "'what are vitamins". However, the text is biased towards nutrition and is virtually devoid of food chemistry. The serious student will have to resort to more standard works on the subject. In hard-back form pp. 167 at £3.75 the book is expensive, but is available in OPUS ed. £1.50. Proctor Dept. of Food & Leather Science David S. Robinson University of Leeds, U.K.
37
This is the first of a series which the Editors hope will be complementary to Essays in Biochemistry in that it will cover those aspects of biochemical knowledge which are of particular relevance to medicine. In the choice of subjects the Editors "have in mind the needs of hospital biochemists and clinicians with an interest in metabolic disease". They hope the essays will be of interest to senior medical and biochemistry students as well as their teachers. This volume contains four essays: (A) "Biochemical Investigation of Hypertension" by Dr. Beevers and his colleagues from the MRC Blood Pressure Unit in Glasgow. (B) "Bile Acid Synthesis: An alternative pathway leading to Hepatotoxic compounds" by Dr. Percy-Robb. (C) "Hyperlactataemia and Lactic Acidosis" by Professor Sir Hans Krebs (to whom this volume is dedicated) and his colleagues Dr. Woods and Professor Alberti. (D) "Bence Jones Proteins" by Professor J. R. Hobbs. These are widely variant topics, but clearly the aim of the Editors is to 'sell' this series on the basis that the topics are those of rapid expansion and therefore of particular interest to the non-expert, and that the essays are pleasant to read rather than exhaustive. At the same time I am sure that the Editors would want this series to illustrate the various types of interaction between biochemistry and medicine. These are all difficult tasks but on the whole I feel that the Editors and authors have been successful in them. The subjects chosen are good ones in that they have each undergone recent expansion and yet each illustrate somewhat different aspects of the interaction between biochemistry and medicine. The Editors have put the most complex and perhaps least familiar subject first in the book. Dr. Beevers and his colleagues have a difficult task in their essay on the "Biochemical investigation of hypertension". But it seems to me that they have attempted a review which is too wide ranging so that some parts are too superficial and are repetitions of what can be found easily in other books; examples are the sections on corticosteroids and Cushing's syndrome. In contrast when they discuss phaeochromocytoma they do not choose between the various measurements used to detect it not do they discuss in any detail the diagnostic specificity of these measurements. They have succeeded in indicating the scope and complexity of the problem but I did not find the first part of the essay "pleasant reading". The section on the renin-angiotensinaldosterone system was however very good reading and could usefully, with expansion, have formed the whole content of the essay. Dr. Percy-Robb's essay on bile acid synthesis is pleasant reading and has something for everyone likely to read the book. His essay illustrates how in vitro experiments and chemical observations have combined to increase our knowledge of the biology of bile acids and of the biochemical basis of several clinical disorders. His discussion of the alternative pathway of bile-acid synthesis has, however, got somewhat lost in the essay. Professor Sir Hans Kreb's essay on lactic acidosis also makes very enjoyable reading. It would give a reader a very sound classification of the disorders associated with accumulations of lactate in blood, and the nature of the metabolic disturbances in these disorders. The section on acidosis is rather heavy going and the authors might have said a little more of what they mean by "a crucial factor (in the production of acidosis) is the loss of base in the urine". The fourth essay by Professor Hobbs on Bence-Jones Proteins is excellent. It illustrates how clinical problems have been identified and their causes unravelled by biochemical investigations and illustrates how many disease aspects an apparently narrow topic can have. On the whole this is a very enjoyable book and sets a high standard for future volumes to maintain. A bargain at the price. D. B. Morgan Department of Chemical Pathology University of Leeds, U.K.