Biochemistry seeks to describe the structure, organization, and functions of living matter in molecular terms. Essentially two factors have contributed to the excitement in the field today and have enhanced the impact of research and advances in biochemistry on other life sciences. Firstly, it is now generally accepted that the physical elements of living matter obey the same fundamental laws that govern all matter, both living and non-living. Therefore the full potential of modern chemical and physical theory can be brought in to solve certain biological problems. Secondly, incredibly powerful new research techniques, notably those developing from the fields of biophysics and molecular biology, are permitting scientists to ask questions about the basic process of life that could not have been imagined even a few years ago.

Biochemistry now lies at the heart of a revolution in the biological sciences and it is nowhere better illustrated than in...