RECENT BOOKS ELEnRoPHoREsIs OF PROTEINS AND THE CHEMISTRY OP CELL S~RPACES.Harold A . Abramson, Leurencc S . Moyer, and Monzrel H . Gorin. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York. 341 pp. 155 figs., 51 tables. $6.00. Whenever factual information regarding a subject has become sufficiently extensive, compilations appear, usually 6rst in the form of review articles and Later in the form of books. Tbese, in turn, are followed hy books dealing with more specialized phases of the subject. All of this is indicative not only of growth and maturity of a subject but also of the need for analysis and integration of informaion and making the facts and the literature easily available t o beginning students and the more mature research workers. The recent appearance of a number of texts relating t o the chemistry of the amino acids and proteins is indicative not only of the ever-growing interest in this field but also that the subject has passed its adolescent stage and has reached the age of maturity. There can be no question that the technic of electrophoresis has provided a powerful tool for the elucidation of problems relating t o proteins and particularly in demonstrating that many of the ~ r o t e i n sthat a t one time were regarded as homomolffular " arc really a mixture of several componmtr. It is still a far rry from thr protpin that hai bren i d a t e d from natural sources by chrmiral methods to its state in livmg matter and this i, a problem that still remains to be solved. Powerful as the electrophoresis technic has proved, it should not be regarded as the only tool available for the characterization of proteins. Electrometric titration, transport, diffusion, solubility, X-ray diffraction patterns, the ultramicroscope, and o s mosis are eauallv ootent tools for the elucidation and characteri?ation of thc hehavior and the propertie.; of protein5 Taken tugether, data obtaincd by the application of t h r r and other mrrhods that may be dewloped in the future have added and will continue t o add t o our ever increasing knowledge of amino acids and proteins. These statements are not t o be construed as being non-indicative of the importance and the timely appearance of the baok captioned above. I n presenting the subject matter of electrophoresis, the authors have well borne in mind the needs of both the beginning student and the more mature worker. The value of the book is enhanced by the inclusion of numerous graphs and tables. The writer feels that the usefulness of the book would have been greater had the authors included the complete literature reference as a part of each figure and table rather than as footnotes which a t times are not on the same page as the figure or table. While the authors have taken care t o define electrophoretic mobility in specific terms, beginning students would have appreciated had the authors also included definitions of ionic mobility a s obtained from transference data and by extrapolation of equivalent conductance t o infinite dilution as well as the mobility of zwitterions determined by diffusion measurements. The authors undoubtedly felt that this was beyond the scope of the hook. About half of the book is devoted t o the application of the technic and facts obtained from electronhoresis t o hioloeical .. orob. Iemr w r h as the fractionation of protans of norrnsl and immune sera, the iwlatwn of proreins from biologically im~mrtnntm m c s suchas bacteria, venoms, pollens, etc., the interactionsof proteins in mixtures and a t surfaces, enzymes and hormones, and latex. A sufficient number of problems are open in these fields to keep research workers busy for years to come. The authors of this volume have done a worth-while job. The book will undoubtedly find a place in all laboratories where research work on amino acids, proteins, and related compounds is carried out.
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Teachers of chemistry will some day realize that some of the fundamental laws of both chemistry and physics can d t e n he illustrated to better advantage by the use of data obtained from amino acids and proteins than by the classical examples general!^ used. To this end the book will also be useful. Cnnr. L. A. Scwamr UNrvaRslrv os C&moanr*
EBEKELBY, CUPOP-NI&
Noxrous GASES AND THE PRINCIPLESOR RESPIRATION INPLUENUNG THEIR Acr10~. Yandell Henderson and Howard W . Haggard, Laboratory of Applied Physiology, Yale University. (A. C. S. Monograph.) Second, revised edition. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New Y a k . 294 pp. 12 figs. 14.5 X 23 cm. 8.50. The second, revised edition retains and amplifies the admirable treatment of the physiology and chemistry of respiration presented in the 6rst edition. Based on the latest findings in the field of respiration, the treatment is sufficiently simple and clear t o afford t o the chemist a solid explanation of the physiology of breathing and t o the physiologist the conditions imposed by the laws of partial pressures and solubility of gases. These considerations clarify the action of the various noxious gases and dictate first aid treatment. The discussion is limited to the gases and vapors occurring in industry and daes not include those agents peculiar t o warfare nor the harmful dusts encountered in industry. Especially valuable are the many tables giving allowable concentrations as well as those which are harmful in varying degrees. The physiological action, symptoms, prognosis, and &st aid treatment of each gas are thoroughly presented. I n the final chapters, methods of resuscitation and treatment a s well as the merits of various types of protective masks sre clearly explained and carefully evaluated. New chapters on the following subjects have been added: the significance of standards for physiological response to various concentrations of gases and vapors, chemical asphyxiants, and methods of resuscitation and comparison of various treatments. The hook ends with a statement by Yandell Henderson in which all types of pulmotors and breathing machines are condemned as useless or even positively dangerous The argument is based directly on the physiology of breathing and on actual laboratory experiment. Only the inhalator which furnishes a mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen is recommended as a supplement t o manually applied artificial respiration in first aid treatment. Unfortunately, several annoying misprints appear in the F. C. HISKEY,O.P.
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Co., Inc., New York City, 1942. xi 466'pp. 5 figs. 15 X 23 cm. 8 . 5 0 . This biography of Willard Gihbs extols the extensive and precise imagination of the famous author of the phase rule. I t gives an intimate and detailed picture of the life of two generations of professors a t Yale in the nineteenth century. A vivid impression of the times is conveyed by excursions into the story of the James family, Adams family, and contemporary literati. Readers who are accustomed to technical accuracy and camplete sentences will not enjoy Miss Rukeyser's repetitious style, fragmentary sentences, and round-robin chapters.
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