Proteins are essential to life, having a great variety of roles in all organisms. They are the ultimate micro-machines: some are building blocks, joining with other substances to make the cells from which we are formed; some are catalysts, speeding up biochemical reactions to keep our cells active and alive; yet others help cells to communicate, to move, to build up the complex mix of tissues that make up our bodies, and to regulate unfolding programmes of development.
Introduction to Protein Science provides a broad ranging introduction to the contemporary study of proteins in health and disease, suitable for students on biological, biochemical, and biomedical degrees internationally. It relates the study of proteins to the context of modern high-throughput data streams of genomics and proteomics.
Describing basic principles of protein structure and methods for studying them, Introduction to Protein Science illustrates the wide variety of functions that proteins have, showing how the structures of proteins are intimately linked to their functions.
Building on the success of the first edition, the new edition integrates treatment of bioinformatics, databases and computational methods of determining and predicting protein structure and function, and demonstrates how these methods are paving the way for the ability to design novel proteins with specific desired characteristics.
With added coverage of recent developments in the field, particularly in high-throughput methods; a new chapter on enzyme kinetics; extended coverage of topics such as protein evolution, and the immune system; as well as the inclusion of new end-of-chapter exercises, problems and weblems, Introduction to Protein Science captures the current state of excitement in a way that all biosciences students and instructors will find appealing.
New to this edition:
- New chapter on enzyme kinetics
- Reorganized content, to maximise coherence
- New learning features, including key points throughout chapters, and new 'proteins in health and disease' boxes
- Improved presentation of figures
1: Introduction
2: Protein structure
3: Protein structure determination
4: Bioinformatics of protein sequence and structure
5: Proteins as catalysts: enzyme structure, kinetics, and mechanism
6: Proteins with partners
7: Evolution of protein structure and function
8: Protein folding and design
9: Proteomics and systems biology
"The use of computer generated images of protein structures is a welcome feature in the chapter as they provide a clear representation of the actual 3D structure of the proteins discussed. The commentary about these images in the chapter ensures that the reader is not mislead by the simplicity of the diagrams and explains the more complex features of the protein. The variety of proteins displayed is interesting, as in conventional textbooks the diagrams are often of typical proteins, such as haemoglobin."
– Laura Jacobs, 2nd year biomedical science student, Oxford Brookes University