Book Description
This candid narrative by Nobel laureate, Arthur Kornberg, chronicles the saga of a small biotech start-up, the key players, the painstaking development of the perfect product, and the forces affecting its resulting success or failure. Kornberg's razor-sharp wit and provocative opinions make this book a compelling page turner, whether he is decrying the current fashion in scientific funding or delving into the hotly contested PCR patent trial. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Disappointing if you are seeking business insights
A good book if you want resumes of biotech industry pioneers, but written from a strongly US-centric and scientific rather than commercial point of view.I had hoped to gather insights into what it's like being part of anew start-up venture, but instead found little more than generous (ifuncritical) praise of the scientific workers involved in the story.

Biotech industry in a nutshell
Arthur Kornberg starts by describing how, as an academic, he was opposed to the commercialization of biotechnology. He describeshis role on the advisorial board at DNAX and identifies the key elements for success in any biotech company. Kornberg details the risks in biotechnology and discusses the pros and cons of commercial biotechnology, and his take on patents - "Secrecy is corrosive; it makes even less sense in industry than in academia." In the end, he concludes that industry, not academia, is where the most productive science takes place.

reality check for academicians considering industry
an autobiographical journey through the minds and hearts of the scientist/ buisnessman. A must for scientists trying to understand how people can do science AND make money! ... Read more

Book Description

In 1645 the Japanese samurai Musashi Miamoto wrote A Book of Five Rings, which described the attitudes necessary for individual success. Though he was a swordsman, his book was not limited to combat but addressed the much broader question of how to achieve excellence in life through study, discipline, and planning. It is still avidly read in Japan today.

Arthur Kornberg's book is a modern-day Book of Five Rings that replaces the medium of swordsmanship with that of biochemistry, particularly enzymology. As Kornberg describes his successive research problems, the challenges they presented, and the ultimate accomplishments that resulted, he provides us with a primer in the strategies needed to do scientific work of great significance. Moreover, these strategies are played out in the context of solving some of the great biochemical problems of the twentieth century.

The ability to manipulate and alter DNA fired a revolution that forever changed the nature of biology. Arthur Kornberg is a primary architect of that revolution, arguably one of the two or three most important biologists of this time. Prior to Kornberg, genetic information and later DNA were imbued by biologists with an almost vitalistic aura. Kornberg demonstrated that DNA is a molecule synthesized by enzymes, like all other chemical constituents of the cell. More important, he trained a school of scientists who focused on and discovered many of the enzymatic activities that act on DNA. It is these enzymes in particular that allow modern "genetic engineering."

For the Love of Enzymes does not describe a single lucky or hard-won accomplishment. Rather, it is the story of thirty years of decisive campaigns, nearly all of which led to insights of major significance. In relating his story, Kornberg never avoids the difficult question of "why": why he felt classical nutritional studies had reached a plateau, why he turned to enzymology as a discipline in which the important answers would be found, and why he believes the study of enzymes will grow ever more important as we face the new scientific frontier of brain function.

This book will challenge students of biology and chemistry at all levels who want to do important work rather than simply follow popular trends. It will also delight and inform readers who wish to understand how "real" science is done, and to learn of the values that guide one of our greatest researchers.

Customer Reviews (2)

Learn to appreciate a protocol!
I read this book when I was in graduate school working in a lab studying yeast replication proteins.Before the genes were cloned to allow overexpression of our proteins we had to purify the endogenous versions from large cultures.Reading this book really made me appreciate the enormous effort that went into designing a purification protocol that worked.Is it glamorous?No.Do you get really cold standing in the cold room?Of course.If you have ever purified proteins and wondered how long it took to develop the protocol, this book will give you an idea (and make you appreciate how good you have it).

nice book, but doesn't quite live up to the hipe
This is a nice, well-written scientific autobiography.
It has some quite entertaining anecdotes, some social message, and a lot biology from the forefront of enzyme-research that should not be forgotten.
It also has a couple of verbatim repetitions withing the book, which are a bit odd.

On the other hand, it has managed to convince me of something that I have already suspected - that purifying and studying enzymes must be one of the most boring lines of research on the face of this planet. Kronberg makes a very valiant effort trying to show the opposite, and it's obvious that he loves his research with passion, something that I truly admire.
I recommend this book to anyone who is thinking of entering enzymology - I believe it will give them a reasonably realistic estimate on whether they will like the work or not (in my case the answer was no, but it's personal taste). ... Read more

Product Description
"I told my three sons stories about germs more than fifty years ago as fanciful bedtime tales."So begins this charming collection of poems written by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Arthur Kornberg to help us learn about the germs that help and harm us.These rollicking, entertaining, and informative poems have been illustrated with witty and amusing watercolors and the book also contains electron micrographs and a glossary for the child who wants to go deeper into the world of microbiology. ... Read more

Book Description
Phosphate Fibers is a singular detailed account of thediscovery, chemistry, synthesis, properties, manufacture, toxicology,and uses of calcium and sodium calcium polyphosphate fibers. AuthorEdward J. Griffith-the inventor and developer of this safe,biodegradable material-takes a multidisciplinary approach tothis subject, considering the social, legal, medical, and industrialissues surrounding the use of asbestos and other mineral fibers. Thiscompelling study is a beneficial resource to both readers interestedin mineral fibers as well as those who want to understand thecomplexities of bringing new substances into the modern marketplace. ... Read more

Book Description
This title presents Nobel Laureate Arthur Kornberg's formal San Diego State University Distinguished Graduate Research Lecture. It is followed by excerpts from a colloquium discussion and by a short bibliography. Originally published in 1988. ... Read more