This science education booklet describes how basic chemistry and biochemistry research can spur a better understanding of human health. The booklet highlights the research of a number of chemists and includes questions at the end of each chapter.

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How could anybody fit all of chemistry into 66 pages? You're skeptical that such a feat could possibly be accomplished, and with good reason. The Chemistry of Health cannot pretend to cover such an enormous area of science in so few pages. We wouldn't even want to try. Instead, this science education booklet aims to offer a sampling of how basic chemistry and biochemistry research can spur a better understanding of human health. We also want you to witness the fascination of research alive in today's chemistry labs.

Chemistry is anything but stale or static. Countless numbers of chemical reactions work ceaselessly inside your body, allowing you to think, breathe, and eat. Chapter 1, "Actions and Reactions," aims to convey the essential and wondrous notion that the chemistry inside your body never stops. Cascades of repeating biochemical relays keep your organ systems operating smoothly and efficiently. Your body's metabolic factories break down the food you eat and recycle the components back into basic building blocks from which your tissues and organs are built.

Scientists hunger for information since, like many others, they are curious people. But a key reason biological scientists strive to learn how living systems work is so they can redesign the broken metabolic circuits that contribute to many diseases. Chemists, like most biologists, want to learn how best to employ primitive organisms like bacteria and yeast, not only to probe fundamental biological questions but also to produce the valuable commodities we call medicines. Chapter 2, "Harnessing Biology's Magic," explores how biotechnology offers rich potential toward bettering human health....

Download The Chemistry of Health

Pdf format, 8.2mb, 66pages.

NIH Pub. No. 06-4121, revised 2006, 66 pages.

Read The Chemistry of Health Online

 Table of Contents

    * Foreword

    * The Pathways of Life

    * Chapter 1: Actions and Reactions

    * Chapter 2: Harnessing Biology's Magic

    * Chapter 3: Sugars And Fats: Are We What We Eat?

    * Chapter 4: A Chemist's Toolbox

    * Chapter 5: The Healing Power of Chemistry

    * Chemistry for the Future

    * Glossary

Visit The National Institute of General Medical Sciences Official Website

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) supports basic biomedical research on genes, proteins, and cells. It also funds studies on fundamental processes such as how cells communicate, how our bodies use energy, and how we respond to medicines. The results of this research increase our understanding of life and lay the foundation for advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.

The Institute’s research training programs produce the next generation of biomedical scientists, and NIGMS has programs to encourage minorities underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral science to pursue research careers. NIGMS supported the research of most of the scientists mentioned in this booklet.

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