Biochemistry. 3rd edition

In writing the third edition of the popular textbook Biochemistry, Lubert Stryer was faced with a formidable task. He had to expand and modify the text to incorporate the explosion of biochemical information that has resulted from numerous discoveries in the seven years since the second edition was published. At the same time he had to maintain the clarity and ready comprehension that characterized the first two editions of the book. Considering the demands of such a task, the product is a definite success. The new edition presents recent advances in several areas, including recombinant DNA technology, immunology, oncogenes, and excitable membranes, while retaining the central organizational core that made the first two editions so appealing. The area of discovery with the greatest influence on this text has been recombinant DNA technology. In the past decade, exciting details concerning cloning and sequenc-ing of DNA, families and superfamilies of proteins, and the multifunctional role of RNA as an intermediate between genotype and phenotype have been elucidated with the help of recombinant DNA and other new technologies. These advances necessitated major changes in the third edition of Biochemistry. The book, which is divided into six parts, begins with a wholly new section entitled "Molecular Design of Life," which introduces the reader to the interactions between the three basic molecules-DNA, RNA, and proteins-and briefly describes the new technology that has made our current level of understanding of these interactions possible. This section is a welcome addition to the text in that it successfully presents an overview of the techniques and potential applications of genetic engineering without trying to detail fully an area about which excellent multi-volume texts have been written. The middle two-thirds of the text, although updated and revised where appropriate, are fundamentally unchanged from past editions. These four parts discuss, respectively , the relationship of protein structure to biologic activity, the integrated processes of intermediary metabolism, the biosynthesis of macromolecular precursors, and the transmission and expression of genetic information. All four parts are extremely well written and concise; the section describing intermediary metabolism is especially noteworthy. This part successfully details the complex biochemical pathways that comprise the individual metabolic processes without losing perspective concerning the central theme of metabolism: the generation and storage of energy. Such a clearly written and well-organized presentation of metabolism has previously distinguished and continues to separate Biochemistry from some of the less popular textbooks of biochemistry. …