Table of Contents

Part 1 Basic concepts of life
1: The basic molecular themes of life
2: Cells and viruses
3: Energy considerations in biochemistry
Part 2 Structure and function of proteins and membranes
4: The structure of proteins
5: Methods in protein investigation
6: Enzymes
7: The cell membrane and membrane proteins
8: Muscle contraction, the cytoskeleton, and molecular motors
Part 3 Metabolism
9: Food digestion, absorption, distribution to the tissues and appetite control
10: Mechanisms of transport, storage and mobilisation of dietary components
11: Principles of energy release from food
12: Glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and the electron transport system
13: Energy release from fat
14: The synthesis of fat and related compounds
15: Synthesis of glucose (gluconeogenesis)
16: Strategies for metabolic control and their applications to carbohydrate and fat metabolism
17: Why should there be an alternative pathway of glucose oxidation? The pentose phosphate pathway
18: Raising electrons of water back up the energy scale - photosynthesis
19: Amino acid metabolism
20: Nucleotide synthesis and metabolism
Part 4 Information storage and utilisation
21: The genome
22: DNA synthesis, repair and recombination
23: Gene transcription and control
24: Protein synthesis and controlled protein breakdown
25: The RNA world - RNA microgenes and RNA interference
26: Protein sorting and delivery
27: Cell signalling
28: Manipulating DNA and genes
Part 5 Molecular biology in health and disease
29: Special topics: blood clotting, xenobiotic metabolism, reactive oxygen species
30: The immune system
31: The cell cycle and its control
32: Apoptosis
33: Cancer