Tymoczko J.L., Berg J.M., Stryer L. Biochemistry: A Short Course

W.H. Freeman, 2010. — 722p. — ISBN10: 0-7167-5840-7; ISBN13: 978-0-7167-5840-2From the Preface: "As human beings, we are adept learning machines. Long before a baby learns that she can change a sheet of paper by crumpling it, she is absorbing vast amounts of information. This learning continues throughout life in myriad ways: learning to ride a bike and to take social cues from friends; learning to drive a car and balance a checkbook; learning to solve a quadratic equation and to interpret a work of art. Of course, much of learning is necessary for survival, and even the simplest organisms learn to avoid danger and recognize food. However, human beings are especially gifted in that we also acquire skills and knowledge to make our lives
richer and more meaningful. Many students would agree that reading novels and watching movies enhances the quality of our lives because we can expand our horizons by vicariously being in situations that we would never experience, reacting sympathetically or unsympathetically to characters who remind us of ourselves or are very different from anyone we have ever known. As authors, our goal was to write a book that encourages students to understand biochemistry in this broader sense, as a way to enrich their understanding of the world. In almost every chapter, we explore the biochemical underpinnings of disease in Clinical Insights. In these discussions, students see how the concepts theretofore presented influence an aspect of a disease or its cure. By exploring biochemical concepts in the context of a disease, students learn how these concepts are relevant to human life and what happens when biochemistry goes awry. Biochemistry influences every aspect of our world, sometimes in strange and amazing ways.We look at some of these biochemical phenomena in Biological Insights in several chapters throughout the book. Like Clinical Insights, Biological Insights bolster students’ understanding of biochemical concepts as they learn how simple changes in biochemical processes can have dramatic effects."