Introducing Biological Energetics: How Energy and Information Control the Living World [Paperback]

This novel, interdisciplinary text presents biological understanding in terms of general underlying principles, treating energy as the overarching theme and emphasizing the all-pervading influence of energy transformation in every process, both living and non-living.Introducing Biological Energeticsis a novel, interdisciplinary text that presents biological understanding in terms of general underlying principles, treating energy as the overarching theme and emphasizing the all-pervading influence of energy transformation in every process, both living and non-living. Key processes and concepts are explained in turn, culminating in a description of the overall functioning and regulation of a living cell. The book rounds off the story of life with a brief account of the endosymbiotic origins of eukaryotic cells, the development of multicellularity, and the emergence of modern plants and animals.Multidisciplinary research in science is becoming commonplace. However, as traditional boundaries start to break down, researchers are increasingly aware of the deficiencies in their knowledge of related disciplines.Introducing Biological Energeticsredresses the reciprocal imbalance in the knowledge levels of physical and biological scientists in particular. Its style of presentation and depth of treatment has been carefully designed to unite these two readerships.PrefaceIntroduction1. The flow of energy in living systems2. Origins - the early Earth3. Energy and force explored4. Which way? An introduction to thermodynamics5. The building blocks6. How fast, how far? Chemical thermodynamics and equilibrium7. The strange story of water and oil8. Size matters - proteins and enzymes9. Molecular genetics - the chemical basis of heredity10. Electron gymnastics - energy revisited11. Cells and metabolism - putting it all together12. From prokaryotes to eukaryotes - getting ready for multicellular life13. Multicellular life - the last hurdle?Appendix A - Electromagnetic l*