How life works : the inside word from a biochemist / William Elliott and Daphne Elliott.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Elliott, Daphne, author.

Elliott, William, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Biochemistry--Popular works.

Biochemistry.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (174 p.)

Place of Publication:

Clayton South, VIC 3169, Australia : CSIRO Publishing, [2015]

Summary:

Complete with colour illustrations and written in a conversational style, biochemist William Elliott unravels the mystery of life while revealing its majesty. How do chemical reactions occur? How do genes hold information? Why do our bodies age? What happens when someone gets cancer? How Life Works provides the inside word for those who are curious about the workings of the microscopic world inside us.Biochemistry not only explains what DNA is and how it forms the blueprint for who you are, it also explains how the food you eat is broken down, supplying the energy to run a marathon. It shows t

Contents:

How Life Works; Foreword; Contents; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1 The fantastic nature of matter; The living unit of organisms is the cell; Biology is dependent on chemistry; The Big Bang; What are atoms made of?; Where did atoms other than hydrogen come from?; The structure of atoms; Arrangement of components in atoms; What are molecules?; The chemical properties of the elements are determined by the electrons; 2 The problem of how to supply energy to living processes; What do living organisms need energy for?; The universal energy currency unit of all life forms

What makes the structure of ATP so suitable for its central role in all of life?How is ATP used in the body to drive the synthesis of the large molecules of living matter?; A long research controversy: how is ATP produced in mitochondria?; 3 Enzymes overcome the chemical reaction barrier problem; Enzymes bring about all the reactions of life; Enzymes often need a vitamin derivative or a trace metal to function; If the activities of enzymes were not regulated there would be metabolic chaos; Why don't digestive enzymes digest the body?; 4 Proteins: the wonder molecules of life

How can one type of molecule have so many different functions?A single wrong amino acid out of hundred scan cause a genetic disease; Folding of the proteins; Complex structures of life form from protein molecules by a process of self-assembly; The evolutionary record is written in the amino acid sequence of proteins; 5 The genetic problem and DNA; Replication of DNA; 6 Deciphering the genetic code; How are amino acids represented by the base sequence of mRNA?; Gene mutations affect the amino acid sequences of proteins, causing genetic diseases; 7 The life and death of cells

Strict control of cell multiplication is necessary in animalsStem cells; Programmed cell death; The human genome project gave startling information about human DNA; 8 The origin of life; Where did the first biological molecules come from?; The ancient RNA world; Why has RNA been replaced by DNA in all cellular life?; How were cell membranes formed?; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed September 2, 2015).

ISBN:

9781486300495

1486300499

9781486300488

1486300480