 | Bioenergetics: A Bridge across Life and Universe Subjects: Environment & Agriculture; Bioscience; Physical Sciences; Natural History - Evolution and general biology; Biochemistry; Natural History; Biology; Physics; Cell Biology; Biophysics; Bioenergetics deals with the very first energy transformation steps performed by living cells. Increased dissipation is the primary effect of processing external energy packages. Enzyme-supported charge separation is the minor but essential outcome for maintaining life. This book explores the usefulness of dissecting the entropy production of enzymes involved in cellular defenses, fermentation, respiration, and photosynthesis, assuming that tightly regulated dissipation is the hallmark of life. Researchers, educators, and students of life sciences can find in this text many examples of how we can use the interdisciplinary approach to study cells' virtuoso ability to connect the microscopic to the macroscopic world. Each chapter is a self-contained unit with a glossary and selected references for further reading. Davor Juretić is Professor Emeritus and a scientific adviser at the Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences in Split, Croatia. His initial education in theoretical physics led to biophysics, bioinformatics, and bioenergetics training in the USA. He established the Biophysics Ph.D. Program at the University of Split. His publications are from the research fields of peptide antibiotics, predictions of membrane buried protein helical segments, and applications of the maximum entropy production principle in physics and biology. |
