EDITORIALLY S P E A K I N G
Biophysical Science-* study Programu is a book which should be brought to the attention of every undergraduate chemist. The nearly-600-page volume contains 61 papers which constituted the month-long Study Program conducted by the Biophysics and Biophysical chemistry Section of the National Institute of Health a t Boulder, Colorado, during the summer of 1959. John L. Oncley headed the editorial committee that prepared the present volume, published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc., in the fall of 1959. The papers first were published in two issues of Reviews of Modem Physics. Publication of this volume should be a big step toward attaining the objective of the Study Program which was "to aidand encourage the further blending of concepts and methods of physical science with those of life science in the investigation of biological problems." More specifically it places under one cover lecture material which will "provide a timely research guide and a useful base on which to build new courses and seminars in biophysical science " We see the serving of still another purpose in urging professors of undergraduate chemistry courses to examine this book and to make it available to their students. This is the ever-increasing importance of interdisciplinary training as the background for a scientific career. The essential theme illustrated by virtually every paper in this compilation is that expressed in the opening sentence of otfe contributor, "Biology is now in an exciting phase marked by the confluence of different disciplines of research in the attack on focal problems." All who counsel undergraduates know how frequently they encounter the student who has made up his mind about his life work after having had a few credit hours in a subject. He then proceeds with fire in his eye to take all the offerings of that department to the complete exclusion of what he considers to be nonessential fringe activity in other fields. This kind of early enthusiasm for a specialty is educationally unfortunate for the individual, and the regrettable circumstance is that so many students feel that something is wrong if they do not have it. Lack of motivation
may become a hindrance for a student if he is taking rigorous courses which appear to him to be far removed from the kind of problems he would like to attack for the rest of his life He needs to be helped to see the relevance of training at a depth beyond superficiality in a variety of disciplines. This may be needed before he can even formulate the "focal problems." After reading this book, no undergraduate majoring in biology will continue to think, as some do, that his career can be spent with microscope and microtome, using a little chemistry, only nodding to physics, and as a life devoid of the complications of mathematics. Also the eyes of many typical undergraduate majors in the physical sciences will be opened. Their disdain for the "frog-cutter-uppers" will evaporate when they realize the kind of attack now being made on the fundamental problems of bio-science: how does the living organism operate a t the molecular or macromolecular level? The picture drawn by the authors of these papers is one which should fascinate even the student with a beginner's grasp of organic and physical chemistry. The elucidation of structure by physical techniques that is starting to unravel the mysteries and uncover the consistencies in the properties of nature's macromolecules (the polypeptides, polysacchandes, and nucleic acid chains), promises exciting things in years to come. The emergence of understanding the correlation of structure and function in lamellar systems by applying the concepts useful in solid state physics is another demonstration of the fruitfulness of interdisciplinary approach. Another is the theoretical model built from thermodynamic and kinetic data to account for reciprocity between the contraction of muscle and its catalyzing the hydrolysis of energyrich ATP. Seldom has the growing edge of knowledge in a broad field been so well described as in this book. The excellent format,. profusion of well-chosen figures and . pl~utogr:tpl~s, i ~ l n n ~ d rcfon-noes, a~~t and st-leered liililiograpliit,-iall complement the luciili~yof ilic preseni~iion. It deserves a conspicuous spot in any library frequented by science students.
Volume
37, Number 2, February I960
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55
