Anderson's essentials of biochemistry

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book reviewspast few years, single-crystal strumwe nnnlysis has come r-ibhin ].each of t,he average chemist. Diffraction data can he collected and analysed so rapidly that, it is possible t o solve the crystal struct,ure of medium-siaed molecules in one t,o two mont,hs. Furthermore, refinement of the stmcbure parametera leads to previously unheard of accuracy in the reported bond lengths and thermal parameters. This new era in X-ray diffraction andysis i~ the result of the yecent advance made in computing technology. Small computers are used to control the collection of X-ray diKrrtct,ion int,ensity data and large compnters are used in the analysis of these data. As a result of the popularization of X-ray diffraction techniques s. number oi books have been writ,ten for t,he "non-

professional" crystallographer. X-Ray Structure Determination: A Practical Guide is a good example of a hook designed for t,he researcher who ha? little or no hackground in X-ray diffrsction. The aut,hors assume that such an individual has access to X-ray diffraction equipment and a modern large computer. I t is furiher assumed that a set of erystdlographic computer programs is available (suggestions are even ofTered as to where these programs e m be obt,ained). The book is composed of three parts. The first, Preliminary Stages, discusses theory of X-ray diffraction, principles of crystal symmetry, techniques far data collection and structure factor calculations. Part 11, The Phase Problem, describes the various methods used to derive the atomic positions from the experimental data. The last section deals

with structure refinement, i.e., the pracedures used to obtain the most accurate interatomic distances and angles from the experimental dat,a. The aut,hors have kept the mathematical details. to a minimum in an attempt to present a readable and practical guide for the novice. I n the opinion of this reviewer they have succeeded. This is not to say that someone without any previous experience will be able to solve a cryst,al structure simply by reading this book and following instructions. It is almost certain that a t some stage of the process the beginner will h w e to seek professiond advice. However such assistance csn be minimiaed with the help of thin book. I t is recommended both lor the novice crystallographer and for all those who intend to read t,he crystallographic literature intelligently. Elements of X-Ray Crystallography is a book meant to be studied rather than read. It. presents a clear, though rigorous, introduction to all aspects a f X-ray crystallography. The, more difficult topics which are marked by t,he aubhar with an asterisk, can b e ~ k i p p e dif the hook is to be used for a sophomore-level course. However, the general level of present,ation is such that it would be most useful as a graduate or senior-level undergraduate t,ext, where the st,udent,shave a good haekground in physics and mrtthematics. The text is divided int,o four part,s: elements of crystals (4 chaptera), elements of X-ray physics (2 chapters), elements of diffraction t,heory ( 5 chapters), and elements of experimental methods (9 chapters). Powder as well as single-crystal techniques are discussed. There are good problems of varying degrees of complexiQ a t the end of each chhpter, with selected answxs in an appendix. B j t h books are relatively free of errors and have very clear diagrams. R6um:N RUDMIN Adelphi Universill, Garden Cily, New l'ork

Anderson's Essenfidr of Biochemistry

Gordon H . Prilharn, Kansas City College of Osteopathy and Sargery, Kansas Cit,y, Mo. The C. V. Mosby Co., St. Louis, 1968. xii 710 pp. 134 Illustrations. $13.75.

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This text is a rewrit,ten and updated version of a previous book that achieved a certain popularity as a text far sn undergraduate course in biochemistry. Insofar as it assumes that the student has previously covered the fundamentals of organic and physical chemistry in a course which probably met only the minimum requirement,^ in those areas, quick reviews of these fundamental principles frequently precede the development. of the applications of many of these to biochemistry. The first chapter, Biophysical Chemistry, is a good example. There is a tendency in such synaptic presentations of topics to give oversimplified explanations. The next four chapters cover the structures of the major components of living (Continued on page A48)

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Journal of Chemicol Education

book reviews organisms, viz., earhohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Here the major criticism that may he made is that the relationship of deduced struct,ures to the experimental evidence supporting them is often lacking or a t least very tenuous. Thus phosphatides are shown t o have the a structure and the experimental fact that these can give rise to P glycerophosphoric acid on hydrolysis is completely ignored. The structure of nucleic acids is pulled out of a. hat as if by magic with the statement "By integrating the results of many invest,igations, the fundament,al structure of a nucleic %id has been found to consist of a 'hackhone' of phosphate-sugar repeating units linked as diesters of the phosphate between the %carbon of one sugar molecules and the 5-carbon of the adjacent one." Chapter 6 covers enzymes in 20 pages and enzyme kineties is treated in a very abbreviated fashion. The derivations used have been shown back in 192.5 by Briggs and Haldane to be specious, a point made more eloquently by Reiner in his text on the "Behavior of Enzyme Systems." However, this author, as do the vast majority of other authors of textbooks, still keeps repeating the assumption that the Michaelis constant is a measure of the affinity of the enzyme and substrate. Another point worthy of note in this chapter is that the asymmetric handling of citrrtte by aconitase puts so much stress on the idea. of s three point attachment of the molecule to the asymmetric enzyme surface and so little on the geometrio nonequivalence of the -CH&OOH groups that the student who reads this must surely be impressed thst this is part of the magic of enzymes rather than that the enzyme is an aymmetric reagent and that other asymmetric reagents would make the same type of distinction even if with less specificity. Chapter 7 treats coenzymes and vitamins in s. short and simple manner while chapter 8, Nutrition, runs for some 80 pages and is rather way out of proportion with the previous two chapters. Chapter 9 treats the cell and snhcellular particles and Chapter 10 digestion and absorption. This leads to the treatment of biological oxidations in Chapter 11. Intermediary metabolism is covered in the next three chapters; carbohydrates, lipids, and finally proteins and amino acids. The intermediary metabolism of nucleic acids is included in the chapter an amino acids. The physiological implications of intermediary metabolism are developed extensively in these chapters a t appropriate points. The remaining three chapters are even more slanted t o physiology. Chapter 1.5 treats blood and acid-base balance in some 'detail and this covers 47 pages, Chapter 16 deals with the kidney, Chapter 17 with inorganic metabolism and water halance, and Chapter 18 with endocrine organs. There me four appendices: (a) methods used in hiochemical research, vie., chromatography, electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation and speetrophotometry. All are treated in qualitative rather than (Continued on page A50)

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Journal o f Chemical Education

latter part of this criticism should book reviews The not be construed as a specific problem of quantitative fashion; (b) abbreviations frequently used in the biochemical literature; (c) energy requirements for various types of activity; and (d) composition of foods. This is a rather lengthy compilation (40 pages) of data taken from work published by the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. At the end of each chapter there is a list of review questions and references. After many of the chapters there is a list of audio-visual aids andinfarmation as t o the source of these materials and rental fees for some of them. This is probably the most unique feature that this author has to contribute and which is not t o be found in any of the textbooks in this area. with which I have been acquainted. The references are most often up to date reviews or to other textbooks rather than to classic original work. ~h~ index, while not very detailed, seems and the printing and technical production are well done. I t would be easy to enumerate a catalog of more detailed technical errors but this probably would not accomplish much here. Rather it must be pointed out, as some of the examples above illustrate, that this text has a strong physiological bias and is more concerned with presenting conclusions drawn from experiment,al evidence than in going into any detail of the chemical basis far these concl~wions.

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this text. Rather it is t o be found in t,he vast majority of the textbooks written a t the undergraduate level and even in some which would be considered to be suitable for use a t the graduate level or in medical school. Consequently, the criticismfi mentioned above hardly provide the teacher with a good basis for choosing between this textbook and its competitors. These remarks have been made in the hope t h a t they will reach the proper audience via this journal and that interested teachers will bestimulated to correct many of the faults in the teaching of biochemistry which are reflected in this text and in far too many of the current text,books of biochemistry.

entire volume to this particular form of carbon. Carbon black, other colloidal forms, and erauhite comuaunds will he - . covered in a future section. Thousands of references t d the technology of graphite are condensed to about 50 pages. Major sections are devoted to crystallographic data, mechanical and thermal properties, and electric and magnetic properties. Minor topics include interaction with neutrons, optical properties, wetting, adsorption, and electrochemical behavior.

JANET B. VANDORBN The College of Woosler Wooster, Ohio Terminologie Chimique Franco-

DONALD D. CLARKE Anghise-French-English Chemical Fordham University Terminology Bronx, New York 10468 Hans Fromherr, Schwy, Switzerland and Alezander King, Paris, France. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim/Bergstrasse, Gmelins Handbuch der Anorganischen Chemie. 8. Auflaga, System Nummer West Germany and Gauthier-T'illars, 14, Kohlenstoff. Teil B, Lieferung Paris, 1968. pp. Tables.France, 15 X 21 em. xix DM 66562 (= ap2, Das Element: Oraphit prox. $16.50). ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ d i by~ E,~ H.d E. pielseh, A , K the h e l i n indituk. \rerlag I n 1963, Fromherz and King issued chemie, GMBH, ~ ~ i ~ h the ~ 4th i ~edition / ~of their ~ ~German-English ~ i ~ Terminology ~ , which was a revised and strasse, 1968, xvi + 436 pp, ~ 17,5 ~ 5 . 5 ~$122,50, ~ . extended edition of their 1934 book. This "teach yourself" approach has Because of the unusual nature of graphproven so successful bhat they decided to ite and the wealth of reference material on p u t out this counterpart French-English (Continued on page A521 it, the Gmelin Institute has devoted an

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