Description
Book SynopsisAn eminent pioneer of modern protein chemistry looks back on six decades in biochemical research and education to advance stimulating thoughts about science. Joseph Fruton brings his own skeptical vision to bear on how chemistry and biology interact to describe living systems.
Trade ReviewEnlightening and provocative—and may provoke rather sharp disagreement in certain quarters! A valuable contribution to the continuing dialogue among scientists, historians, philosophers, and other inquirers. -- John T. Edsall, Harvard University
Table of ContentsPreface 1. Biochemistry and Skepticism 2. Perspectives on the "Scientific Method" The Views of Peter Medawar Claude Bernard and his Medecine Experimentale Justus von Liebig on Francis Bacon On Craftsmanship On Hypotheses in the Biochemical Sciences Sanger and Insulin: A Case History The Perils of the Search for Simplicity 3. The Interplay of Biology and Chemistry The Nineteenth-Century Debates The Emergence of Biochemistry Nineteenth-Century Cytology, Embryology, and Microbiology Twentieth-Century Embryology versus Genetics The Emergence of Biochemical Genetics A "Sack Full of Enzymes"? On Biomolecular Structure Jacques Monod and "Allostery" On "Energy-Rich Phosphate Bonds" The Dynamics of Biochemical Processes On Biochemical Function and Purpose On Specificity and Individuality Evolutionary Theory and the "Unity of Biology" 4.Approaches to the History of the Biochemical Sciences On Historians of Chemistry On Historians of the Biochemical Sciences On Scientific Disciplines On the "Origins of Molecular Biology" On Scientific Biography and Autobiography 5. Reflections on the Biochemical Literature "The Words of the Tribe" Is the Scientific Paper a Fraud? Bibliography Index of Personal Names Index of Subjects
