hardcover medical research book

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The discovery of how opiates such as morphine and heroin relieve pain and produce euphoria is one of the most dramatic tales of modern science. It begins in 1971 when, at the height of the undeclared war in Vietnam, Richard Nixon officially announced a war on drugs. Heroin addiction--no longer confined to urban ghettos--was causing bad public relations for the White House. The specter of young American soldiers demoralized, drugged, and committing atrocities was not the image President Nixon wished to convey as he argued for further bombings of North Vietnam. In this book Solomon Snyder describes the political maneuverings and scientific sleuthing that led him and Candace Pert, then a graduate student in his lab, to a critical breakthrough in the effort to understand addiction. Their discovery--the so-called opiate receptor--is a structure on the surface of certain nerve cells that attracts opiates. Heroin or morphine molecules fit into opiate receptors much as a key fits into the ignition switch of a car--thus turning on the engine of the cell. Snyder and his students were able to show that nerve cells which possess opiate receptors are found in precisely those parts of the brain that control emotion and pain. Dr. Snyder describes the friendly yet intense competition from other researchers to expand upon this initial discovery. From the work of two Scottish investigators, Hans Kosterlitz and John Hughes, neuroscientists now know not only where opiate receptors are found in the brain but also why they are there: to serve as binding sites for an opiate-like substance produced by the brain itself--the brain's own morphine. This substance, called enkephalin, regulates pain, mood, and a host of other physiological functions. From this very human chronicle of scientific battles in the ongoing war against pain and addiction, we gain an appreciation of the extraordinary intellectual processes of an eminent scientist. But Dr. Snyder's story of scientific brainstorming also affords us rare glimpses into the fruitful, sometimes frustrating, relationships among scientists which enrich and complicate creative work. We are reminded of the delicate political alliances that are forged at every level of organization, from the lab bench to the Oval Office, as the scientific community attempts to fit its needs to those of the larger society.

LIFE AND ENERGY is a brilliant introduction to the chemistry of life. In this highly lucid guide to the dynamics of modern biology, Isaac Asimov deftly explores the most recent discoveries in this constantly surprising field of inquiry. In the first part, he explains the mechanics of the inanimate world, the significance of energy, work, motion, heat, and chemical reaction. He then uses these concepts in the second half to analyze and explain the latest advances in the study of enzymes, amino acids, proteins and the very processes which constitute life itself. In short, Dr. Asimov's keen examination of biology's current desire to isolate and control the very basis of life--the significance of which promises to revolutionize life itself--becomes a fascinating as well as informative excursion. Illustrated with drawings, charts and diagrams.

Timely and unrivalled, this first work to categorize and systematically cover all recently identified receptors in the human genome is all set to become the gold standard in the field of receptor genetics and physiology. In three handy volumes, this comprehensive guide adopts an innovative approach, where, in the first part, each receptor family is discussed individually, based on the latest evidence. In the second part, the knowledge is integrated into concepts and overviews of common themes in present-day receptor research.While serving as a central resource for many disciplines, including biochemistry, molecular genetics and physiology, this reference will be equally welcomed by drug developers and cancer researchers.

Studies the field of biological chemistry as the study of chemical structures and the chemical mechanism of living things.

First published in 1988 and now known as a classic. In this book Stephen Fry describes, in bench-top detail, techniques for the study of primary cell walls in higher plants. Deepening interest in the chelistry and metabolism of cell walls reflects the breadth of their significance in biology. Walls play crutial roles in morphogenesis, growth, disease-resistance, recognition, signalling, digestibility, nutrition and decay. Scientists interested in questions concerning these processes need to know about methods of cell wall analysis. This book was written with these people in mind. There are 11 chapters as follows: 1. Introduction to the growing plant cell wall 2. Radioactive labelling of cell walls 3. Wall polymers: extraction and fractionation 4. Wall polymers: chemical characterisation 5. Wall biosyntesis 6. Wall enzymes 7. Wall architecture 8. Wall turnover and sloughing 9. Biologically-active wall oligosaccharides 10. Wall tightening and loosening: growth 11. Wall degradation "Stephen Fry has written an invaluable book on the analytical techniques available in this important research field. This is an excellent book for the typical modern biologist." J. Experimental Biology "This book will be of considerable value to anyone engaged in the analysis of plant cell walls." Ann. Botany "For those who intend to do any practical cell wall analysis this book will be an invaluable laboratory manual." Plant Pathology "As a practical guide to wall analysis this book will be a most valuable tool." Times Higher Education Supplement

This volume contains material first presented at an international workshop on the 'Use of Microorganisms to Combat Pollution', held in Israel, May 10--18, 1992. The workshop was sponsored by the Bat-Sheva de Rothschild Foundation for the Advancement of Science and included microbiologists, biochemists and geneticists from universities, environmental agencies and the military. Each of the contributors to this volume is an ack nowledged expert on the treatment of one or more types of pollution using microorganisms or their enzymes. This book differs from most published symposia proceedings in the breadth of coverage of each subject. Most of the chapters are divided into three parts: (a) A general presentation of the source and toxicity of the pollutant, (b) a review of the current state-of-the-science on the biodegradation of that pollutant and (c) the authors' unique research experiences on the problem. In several examples, the authors have presented data from both laboratory studies and field trials. Thus, the book contains not only the theoretical background on the biodegradation of pollutants, but also practical experiences in applying this knowledge to solving significant pollution problems.

Livestock Health Encyclopedia

This volume is intended as the standard of biochemistry, covering the period from its beginnings in the work of Priestley and Lavoisier to its final flourish before the new science of molecular biology split from it in the 1940s. Each of the book's seven sections is a chronological narrative history of a distinct branch of biochemistry. In each section the author bases his insights into the development of the new science on scores of substantial extracts from the most important books and research papers in the subject's history.