Biochemistry 7th Edition

Book Preface

This text is intended for students in any fi eld of science or engineering who want a one-semester introduction to biochemistry but who do not intend to be biochemistry majors. Our main goal in writing this book is to make biochemistry as clear and applied as possible and to familiarize science students with the major aspects of biochemistry. For students of biology, chemistry, physics, geology, nutrition, sports physiology, and agriculture, biochemistry impacts greatly on the content of their fi elds, especially in the areas of medicine and biotechnology. For engineers, studying biochemistry is especially important for those who hope to enter a career in biomedical engineering or some form of biotechnology.

Students who will use this text are at an intermediate level in their studies. A beginning biology course, general chemistry, and at least one semester of organic chemistry are assumed as preparation.

New Integration with OWL

Instructors For the fi rst time, this best-selling text is available with OWL, the #1 online homework and tutorial system for chemistry. With OWL, you can improve student learning outcomes, while saving time in grading homework and tracking student progress. Developed by chemistry instructors for teaching chemistry, OWL makes homework management a breeze and enables you to address students’ different learning styles through tutorials, simulations, visualization exercises, and algorithmically generated homework questions with answer-specific feedback. With OWL’s mastery learning approach, students work at their own pace until they understand each concept/skill. OWL includes an interactive, multimedia eBook.

New to This Edition

All textbooks evolve to meet the interests and needs of students and instructors and to include the most current information. Several changes mark this edition.

Biochemistry Hot Topics A new supplement features up-to-date articles on new breakthroughs and topics in the area of biochemistry such as nanotechnology, the green fl uorescent protein, single-molecule visualization, diabetes, blood doping, HPV, stem cells, and HIV.

More Biochemical Connections Boxes In response to customers’ demand for more Biochemical Connection boxes, we have added several new boxes to the text, such as “Protein Synthesis Makes Memories,” “Nanotech Tackles Cancer,” and “ATP in Cell Signaling.”

Updated Coverage Each chapter in the text has been updated with the current developments and scientifi c fi ndings in the biochemistry fi eld.

Expanded and Updated Coverage of Selected Topics A revised section on how buffers work appears in Chapter 2, with a new Apply Your Knowledge box on the same topic. The coverage of physiological roles of peptide hormones is expanded with a new box in Chapter 3. Material on methods such as HPLC and mass spectrometry has been added to Chapter 5, as has a new Apply Your Knowledge box on protein purifi cation. Chapter 8 has new material on methods such as fl uorescence spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. In Chapter 9, new boxes cover legal aspects of genetic research and synthetic genomes. The new box in Chapter 12 on protein synthesis and memory reinforces the new material on enzymes and memory in Chapter 6. Chapter 13 concentrates on methods, with a new section on quantitative PCR, as well as more coverage of genomics and proteomics. New boxes on cancer and on nanotechnology appear in Chapter 14. The role of ATP in cell signaling is newly covered in Chapter 15. Genetic aspects of mitochondrial disease are discussed in a new box in Chapter 20. The topic of energy requirements for plant growth is new in Chapter 22, as is a discussion of plant sources of antimalarial agents. Chapter 24 has a new box on iron requirements, as well as expanded material on longevity.