30-Second Biochemistry

6 Introduction

Chapter 1: Biochemistry's Context
12 GLOSSARY
14 Life's Scale
16 Life's Units
18 Life's Power
20 Life's Rules
22 Life's Matrix
24 Life's Give & Take
26 Profile: Lawrence Henderson
28 Life's Organizing Force

Chapter 2: Building Blocks
32 GLOSSARY
34 Elements
36 Bonds: Life's Handedness
38 Chains: Biological Polymers
40 Lipids
42 Sweetness: Carbohydrates
44 Profile: Frederick Sanger
46 Life's Letters: Nucleotides
48 Workforce: Amino Acids
& Peptides

Chapter 3: Machinery
52 GLOSSARY
54 Protein Folding & Aggregation
56 Shape: Protein Structure
58 Profile: Max Perutz
60 Roads & Rafters: Structural
Proteins
62 Motors
64 Transport & Storage
66 Membranes, Messengers
& Receptors
68 Making Life Go: Enzymes

Chapter 4: Harvesting Energy
72 GLOSSARY
74 Life's Currency
76 Using Big Carbs
78 Using Small Carbs
80 Long-term Storage
& Burning Fats
82 The Central Hub
84 Profile: Hans Krebs
86 ATP From Air
88 Mobilizing the Cell

Chapter 5: Making Life
92 GLOSSARY
94 Burning in Reverse:
Photosynthesis
96 Bringing in the Nitrogen
98 Pooling the Amino Acids
100 The Making of the
Message Bearers
102 Maintaining the Code
104 Profile: James Watson, Francis
Crick & Rosalind Franklin
106 Reading the Book
108 Doctoring Decoding: Epigenetics
110 Finding the Source

Chapter 6: Staying Alive
114 GLOSSARY
116 In & Out: Digestion & Excretion
118 Blood, Breath & Balance
120 Moving
122 Profile: Hugh Huxley
124 Biochemistry on the Brain
1 26 Detox
128 Electrolyte Balance
130 Coordinating the Defence

Chapter 7: In Sickness & Health
134 GLOSSARY
136 Things We Need
138 Staying Fit
140 Progeny & the Pill
142 Maintaining the Right Balance
144 Repelling the Hijackers
146 Profile: Gertrude Elion
& George Hitchings
148 When Cells Break Bad
150 Gene Editing

152 Appendices
154 Resources
156 Notes on Contributors
158 Index
160 Acknowledgements