In this book we present a largely biochemical look at the metals of life and their functions, which we hope will be of interest to chemists and biologists as well as biochemists. The field of 'inorganic bio- chemistry' is one of rapid change. Recent developments in our know- ledge of the activity of calcium, and of the iron-sulphur proteins, are two examples, and increasing attention is being paid to non-metals as well 3]. For reasons of space, we shall restrict ourselves to the normal biological activities of metals. We must ignore, on the one hand, the gross physiological effects of metal...