Molecules in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology: Molecular Phenomena in Biological Sciences

ISBN-13: 9789401070225 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 353 str.

J. Maruani

Opis

Volume 1: General Introduction to Molecular Sciences Volume 2: Physical Aspects of Molecular Systems Volume 3: Electronic Structure and Chemical Reactivity Volume 4: Molecular Phenomena in Biological Sciences

Recenzje

`The book merits a place in any Science Library and I recommend it to anyone who shares the obvious fascination of the writers with molecules and accepts that molecular properties are often best described with the aid of mathematical expressions.'
M. Godfrey, Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 269 (1989)
`... provide a panoramic view of the status and potential of molecular sciences at the end of the nineteen eighties. This four-volume set ... represents a great value for any scientific library or private collections. creating a broad-based and rich mini-series on molecular sciences.'
Structural Chemistry, 1:5

Spis treści

Biomolecular Evolution.- Randomness and Natural Selection in Genome Evolution.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Compositional Compartmentalization of Genomes.- 3. Compositional Constraints Affect both Coding and Non-Coding Sequences.- 4. GC Increases in Coding Sequences Affect mRNA and Protein Stability.- 5. Compositional Constraints are Due to Environmental Pressures.- 6. Codon Usage is Largely Determined by Compositional Constraints.- 7. Mutations are Mainly Fixed through Natural Selection.- 8. Conclusions.- Acknowledgements.- References.- New Insights into the Evolution of Proteins.- 1. The Gene Determinism of the Protein Morphology.- 2. The Composite Organization of Proteins.- 3. The Repetitive Propensity within Proteins.- 4. Protein Polymorphism and the Multigene Family.- 5. Conclusion.- References.- Biomolecular Chirality.- Origin of the L-Homochirality of Amino-Acids in the Proteins of Living Organisms.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Stability of L-Forms.- 3. In Quest of Factors Able to Explain the L/D Discrimination.- 4. The Amplification Mechanism.- 5. A Possible Schema for the Appearance of Life.- 6. The Asymmetric Adsorption on Kaolinite.- 7. Weak Interactions or Asymmetric Adsorption?.- 8. Is the Universe Chiral?.- References.- Right-Handed and Left-Handed Molecular Structures.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Chiral Molecule.- 3. The Origin of Chirality.- 4. Life and Chirality.- 5. Conclusion.- Acknowledgements.- References.- Molecular Pathology.- The Adventure of Molecules in Pathology.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Mendelian Hereditary Diseases.- 3. Polygenic Diseases.- 4. Acquired Molecular Diseases.- References.- Metallo-Organic Complexes and Carcinogenesis.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Possibilities of Raman Spectroscopy.- 3. Blue Particles in Cancer Bloods and Tumours.- 4. Micro-Raman Spectra of Cancer Blue Particles.- 5. Model Organo-Metallic Complexes.- 6. Comparative Analysis of the Raman Spectra.- 7. A Mechanism of Carcinogenesis.- 8. Selective Reactivity of Cancer Drugs.- 9. A Way Toward Therapeutic Research.- 10. A Way Toward Pharmaceutical Research.- 11. Conclusion.- Acknowledgements.- References.- Topics in Biomolecular Physics.- Vibrational Spectroscopy, Molecular Flexibility and Molecular Graphics.- 1. Vibrational Spectroscopy and the Theoretical Determination of Molecular Vibrations.- 2. The Biological Significance of Low-Frequency Molecular Vibrations.- 3. The Local Symmetry Force Field.- 4. Molecular Graphics and a Direct Visualization of Molecular Vibrations.- 5. Low Frequency Molecular Vibrations of the Z-Form of DNA.- 6. Conclusions and Perspectives.- References.- Collective Excitations in Biological Macromolecules: Photoelectron and Exciton Spectra of Polyene, Polypeptides and Polynucleotides.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Hartree—Fock Calculations on Biological Macromolecules.- 3. Beyond Hartree—Fock: Perturbation Theory of Electron Correlation in Biopolymers.- 4. Calculation of Ground State Energy Levels in Polyene, Polypeptides and Polynucleotides.- 5. Electronically Excited States of Biological Macromolecules.- 6. Interaction of Polymers with an External Electromagnetic Field.- References.- The Problem of Protonation in Rhodopsin and Model Schiff Bases.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Why Invoke Protonation?.- 3. What Evidence Do We Have that the Chromophore Is Protonated?.- 4. How Can the Schiff Base Be Protonated in Rh?.- 5. What Difference Would It Make if the Schiff Base Was Not Protonated?.- References.- Molecular Neurobiology and Sociobiology.- Modeling the Drug-Receptor Interaction in Quantum Pharmacology.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Drug-Receptor Interaction.- 3. A Practical Example: The Serotonin Receptor Binding Affinity.- Acknowledgements.- References.- Raman and Infrared Study of Acetylcholine and Postsynaptic Membranes.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Principles of the Methods.- 3. Biological Characteristics of the Samples.- 4. Sample Preparation.- 5. Technical Procedures.- 6. Vibrational Frequency Assignment.- 7. Experimental Results.- 8. Conclusion.- Acknowledgements.- References.- Molecules as Signal Transmitters in Biological Systems.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Transport.- 3. Reception.- 4. Transduction.- 5. Coding.- 6. Integration.- 7. Conclusion.- References.- Molecular Cues in Salmonid Migration.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The Biologist’ Confirmation.- 3. The Olfactory Sense and Selection of Tributaries.- 4. The Olfactory Sense and Navigation at Sea.- 5. The Pheromone Hypothesis.- 6. The Olfactory Epithelium.- 7. The Olfactory Bulb.- 8. Odorants from the Fish.- 9. Conclusion.- Acknowledgements.- References.- Molecules in Mammalian Communication.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Molecules Used by Mammals for Communication.- 3. Sources of Mammalian Chemosignals.- 4. Functions of Mammalian Pheromones.- 5. Can the Choice of a Molecule Be Predicted from the Function of a Pheromone?.- 6. Chemoreception and Stimulus-Response Relationships.- 7. The Mammalian Type of Pheromone Action.- Acknowledgements.- References.