Nature's Robots: A History of Proteins

by Charles Tanford, Jacqueline Reynolds

Proteins are amazing molecules. They spark the chemical reactions that form the basis for life, transmit signals in the body, identify and kill foreign invaders, form the engines that make us move, record visual images. For every task in a living organism, there is a protein designed to carry
it out.
Nature's Robots is an authoritative history of protein science, from the earliest research in the nineteenth century to the most recent findings today. Tanford and Reynolds, who themselves made major contributions to the golden age of protein science, have written a remarkably vivid account of
this history. The authors begin with the research of Berzelius and Mulder into "albumins," the early name for proteins, and the range all the way up to the findings of James Watson and Francis Crick. It is a fascinating story, involving heroes from the past, working mostly alone or in small groups,
usually with little support from formal research grants. They capture the growing excitement among scientists as the mysteries of protein structure and function--the core of all the mysteries of life--are revealed little by little. And they include vivid portraits of scientists at work--two
researchers, stranded by fog in a Moscow airport, strike up a conversation that leads to a major discovery; a chemist working in a small lab, with little funding, on a problem no one else would tackle, proves that enzymes are proteins--and wins the Nobel Prize.
Written in clear and accessible prose, Nature's Robots will appeal to anyone interested in the peaks and valleys of scientific research.

Genres: Science, History, Biology, Nonfiction

312 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2001

Reviews

[Dale Baker]

incredible book on the history of protein chemistry
charles tanford is the man in biophysical characterization methods and technique..I/we bow down...thanks for sharing with us...just an amazing book if you love protein work and wanna know how the forefathers in pro chem got us to where we are...pre-atomic structure and crystallography to modern pdb and all the info genetical, and biophysically and biochemically that a junior high student can access via the net..and specialized programs...it is amazing to see the connection to the past with this letter of love by the tanford(s)/reynold(s) husband and wife team...amazing the first time...and again for the fifth time...this year..

[Gabriel Vallejos Baccelliere · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book presents a very good chronology of various discoveries in the protein science field. Charles Tanford is a very reputed biophysicist, unquestionably a pioneer in the field of protein folding and protein physics in general. But has major problems with regard to historical and philosophical aspects. For example, many essential details about how things are discovered, theorized, discussed, and conceptualized are omitted. The book has a clear bias based on current knowledge, which obscures the historical process that is being narrated. For example, uses current concepts to talk about discoveries in which those concepts did not exist yet (even the very concept of protein as we used today).
It is a good book to have an overall chronology of different discoveries, but it is necessary to complement it with previous knowledge in the history of science in general and of biochemistry and molecular biology in particular.

[Can · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a protein biochemist and have been looking for a book on the history of protein science. It was quite easy to find the Nature's Robots as it seems this is the only book dedicated to the topic. From the start to the end, I immensely enyoyed the book and highly recommend it to especially those working in protein biochemistry field. The reason is quite obvious. You probably love what you are doing as a protein biochemist. But when you read the historical background and details of the knowledge you take granted, your passion will get a significant boost. It really doesnt matter if you have a good publication record or not. To work with proteins is a way of life and you'll have a sense of satisfaction and happiness when you realize that you are also a proud member of the tribe called protein scientists.

[Pascal Leclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and read it a couple times. It gives a great account of when discoveries were made and who made them. I highly recommend it. However, I thought it didn't go deeply enough into the details of how the various discoveries were made and the chronology was such that it was sometimes hard to figure how each discovery led to the next set of discoveries.
As such, I wrote a book, Landmark Experiments in Protein Science (available on Amazon), which gives the flip side of this story, in that it describes the experimental details of how each of the discoveries were made. If you liked Nature's Robots as much as I did, Landmark Experiments in Protein Science should be right up your alley.

[Bluedisc · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quit this book about 1/3 the way through. It just wasn't for me. It is the kind of history that lauds names and dates I felt. It was going over way to much to really get into the history I like, which is the nitty gritty of how things progress. It was written by two scientists that clearly know what is going on, but are writing for a different type of audience than I.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit more technical than I had anticipated. My biochemistry is really good, so I had no trouble following the text, but an uninitiated reader might have attention trouble.

[Vasundhar Boddapati]

Wonderful Book