Virtually all life on Earth, from bacteria to humans, needs iron to survive. From facilitating oxygen flow in mammals to assisting migrating birds in finding their way south for the winter, iron serves a variety of definitive roles for nearly all living creatures.

Our knowledge of iron s role in life is the result of recent discoveries about iron and magnetism in bacteria, in myriad animals and plant species, and in humans. Personal stories of scientists illustrate the lively interplay between molecular biologists, ornithologists, physicists, oceanographers, chemists, geologists,...

Reprints of important papers published in various journals in the 40 years ending with 1990. Grouped under sections on: infrastructure; cells; energetics; information generation and transfer; experimental techniques; and photosynthesis. No index. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.