Energy Processing in Cells: Recurring Concepts and Themes - Softcover

Guppy, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1844016765 ISBN 13: 9781844016761

Publisher: Athena Press, 2008

Synopsis

All processes that occur in a cell require energy that ultimately derives from the sun. The original processing of light energy by plants, the conversion of this energy into a useable form, its utilisation to do work, and its incorporation into storage molecules comprise the subject of this book. Michael Guppy is a retired Associate Professor of Biochemistry from the University of Western Australia. The book is based on a lecture series on metabolism that was developed over twenty years. It is unique in that energy processing is simplified and clarified by being distilled into a series of recurring concepts and themes. The different metabolic pathways are thus treated not as separate entities, but as interlocking parts of a whole that have a common purpose. This approach enables lessons learned from one pathway to be carried over to subsequent pathways, resulting in a decrease in the amount of new information that is encountered as the book proceeds. In the final chapter we are reminded that although biochemistry may be a strange world to many, it is very much a part of us all. The concepts and themes encountered in the book are applied to the issue of how we burn off energy (lipid stores), and what steps we can take to avoid the disabling and life-threatening affliction of obesity.

About this title

Review

Associate Professor Michael Guppy...has produced this pleasing, easily-read paperback...Rather than being presented in a dry manner, it is both provocative and accessible to an undergraduate student. For example, most students would be surprised to find that the resting energy turnover of a normal human is just below the power used by a 100 watt light bulb...It turns what initially appears to be a collection of only loosely related topics and structures into a remembered story. It is this construction of a fabric of knowledge by making as many links as possible between different parts of biochemistry that assists students in remembering and, more importantly, understanding what they have been taught. Guppy's book does this well...The book is aimed at the undergraduate education market. It is well produced, well written and easily accessible for students, and the inexpensive price makes the book feasible to use. If you are teaching biochemistry, and specifically the energy metabolism part of a biochemistry course, you are well advised to take a look at this small, easily read book to see if it suits your task. It presents a traditional area of biochemistry in a novel and interesting manner, one I'm sure helps students appreciate energy metabolism more fully.
-- Tony Hulbert, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong

About the Author

Michael Guppy is Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Western Australia.

Edition details

• Publisher: Athena Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1844016765
• ISBN 13: 9781844016761
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 138