Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: Eugene H. Cordes, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 2009, 414pp., ISBN 978-0-5360963-2 ($59.95). Christopher K. Mathews*, * Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. This engagingly written book is intended as an exposition of basic chemistry and biochemistry for nonscientists. In this regard, the book struck me as a biochemical counterpart to Bill Bryson's “A Short History of Nearly Everything” (Broadway Books, 2003). Cordes does essentially for molecular life science what Bryson did for cosmology, earth and planetary science, and the origin and evolution of life, and he succeeds in his own goal just about as well. Cordes was known to me as the coauthor, with H. R. Mahler, of a widely used biochemistry textbook of the late 60s and early 70s. After the appearance of the second edition of Mahler and Cordes, Cordes left academia for senior-level positions in the pharmaceutical industry. Evidently, he did not lose his love of teaching, because this book is eminently readable, with numerous illlustrative anecdotes and figures of speech that liven the presentation. Much more fun to read than the old Mahler and Cordes! The first half-dozen of some twenty-five chapters deal with basic chemistry, including structures of atoms and molecules and a qualitative (and very nice) introduction to thermodynamics. Although primarily introducing chemical concepts, these chapters are packed with nice biological examples. The rest of the book roams through most (not all) of the major topics in general biochemistry. The sequence of topics is not at all what one expects in a biochemistry course, with protein structure followed by metabolism followed by genetic biochemistry, but the sequence here makes sense, in terms of the author's introduction of topics of real-life interest—vitamins, hormones, steroids, antibiotics, cancer, the brain. Although the author packs into his 414 pages a large amount of information that should be of great interest to the lay public, I found a few significant omissions. In page 108, we see a model of a complex between the HIV protease and one of the inhibitors used in treating AIDS. But nothing is said about the virus or the disease or why inhibiting the protease is a good idea, or about the use of protease inhibitors in drug cocktails that have transformed HIV from a lethal disease to a manageable chronic infection. Although histones are mentioned several times as DNA-binding proteins, I could find no reference to chromatin, which, of course, represents one of the major distinctions between prokaryotes and eukaryotes and has major effects upon gene expression. Elsewhere the author describes quinoline antibiotics as inhibitors of topoisomerases, enzymes that carry out DNA supercoiling, without ever describing what is meant by DNA supercoiling. The chapter on cancer is generally excellent and quite comprehensive, but I could find nothing about DNA repair, or skin cancer, or why we need to limit sun exposure. If the general topic of DNA repair is presented elsewhere in the book, it did not turn up in the index or glossary. The accuracy of the book is high, so far as I could tell. Some errors found their way in, as the author necessarily had to simplify descriptions of complex processes. On page 162, he points out that the function of DNA polymerase I is to correct errors in DNA replication. “DNA polymerase I is a proofreading enzyme.” In fact, all replicative DNA polymerases proofread, and pol I has a defined function in replacing RNA primers (I can see why the author did not want to get into primers or discontinuous DNA replication). An amusing error appears in page 6, where the author is defining the term “hypothesis.” An example stated to be testable and correct is “A dietary deficiency of niacin will cause beriberi.” Fortunately, the author more correctly describes beriberi as a thiamine deficiency on page 200. Despite these reservations, I enjoyed reading the book. I do not know how many nonbiologists there are who would not be intimidated by any book that starts with basic chemistry and works its way up to cancer, hormone action, and brain function. But I do not think they will find a book that does so as easily or as engagingly as does this one.
DOI: 10.1002/bmb.20395
Author: Christopher K. Mathews
Institution: Oregon State University
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2093295351