The Biological Chemistry Of The Elements. The Inorganic Chemistry Of Life, 2nd Edition

Some twenty inorganic elements, many of them metals, are consistently found in living systems and are essential to the proper functioning of those systems. The aim of this text is to discuss, describe, and explain the functional relevance of those the reasons for the processes of their uptake, transport, and localization in cells; the regulation of these processes; and the network of reactions that connects the in vivo inorganic elements to the environment and to the genome and the proteome. The first seven chapters describe the physical, chemical, and biological principles of the involvement of the elements in cellular activity. The next twelve chapters describe the uses of the individual inorganic elements: a section on the genetic control of each element is included. A final chapter explains how the interaction of genes, proteins, small molecules, and organic elements plays such an important role in evolution and speciation of organisms. The second edition of The biological chemistry of the elements is thoroughly revised in content and style. New to this edition are discussions of: the links to the genome of the uptake and transfer of elements and the regulation of homeostasis; the evolution of usage; the functional cooperative activities of the elements; interactions with the environment; and the influence of elements on evolution and speciation.