BOOK REVIEWS 697 QUANTUM ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. K. Higasi, H. Baba, A. Rembaum. Pp. vii + 358 + Ill. (1965). John Wiley © Sons, New York, London, Sydney. 98s. 'Quantum Organic Chemistry' first appeared in a Japanese edition in 1956. Since then the original authors, in collaboration with Dr. Rembaum at CalTech, have rewritten some of the introductory material on molecular orbital methodology and have considerably expanded the treatment of the applications of quantum mechanics to organic chemistry, notably chapters dealing with dipole moments, electron spin resonance, polymerisation reactions and chemical reactivity. Every chapter, theory and practice, is supplemented by a concisely worded summary of salient features presented. Of particular interest are the 40 pages examining, on an MO basis, the electronic transitions involved in molecular absorption spectra. This is a good introductory account for the organic diagnostician with an interest in rationalising his spectra without wishing to set up a research project in the theoretical hinterland between chemistry and physics. The purist might cavil at the occasional solecism, e.g. the indiscriminate use of 'red shift' and, more nonsensically, 'blue shift' for (respectively) bathochromic and hypsochromic effects entirely in the uv regions of the absorption spectrum. ¾Vith more justification one objects to superficialities such as the alleged "consideration" of the effect of electron withdrawing groups on x--x* transitions which in fact consists of only a few chatty lines. But these are minor blemishes in a book that undoubtedly supplies a genuinely readable exposition of the applications of MO theory with only the necessary minimum of fundamentals virtually uncluttered with the esoteric mathematics that often bedevils organically biased students or may deter them after graduation. G. F. PHILLIPS TECHNIQUES IN PROTEIN BIOSYNTHESIS. Vol. 1. Editors: P. N. Campbell and J. R. Sargent. Pp. xii q-336 q- Ill. Academic Press, London/New York. 80s. $15.00 Understanding of the mechanism of synthesis of proteins in living tissues has advanced so rapidly that it is surprising to realise that as recently as 1953 theories involving peptide intermediates and classical enzyme reactions were still in vogue. These theories were already proving their impracticability, however, when the crucial experiments demonstrating the template mechanism of protein synthesis were carried out. Since then the mechanism of the process has been worked out in con- siderable detail. It is the object of this book to describe the techniques which have been used in this field of research. and it is primarily aimed at new entrants to the field. A general review of the field is provided by the editors in an introduction covering 63 pages. This review deals with the historical development of current theories with the system of coding carried by the base triplets making up the nucleic acid chains with the mechanism of transfer of this information from DNA in the nucleus to messenger RNA which goes to the ribosomes with the method of activation of in- dividual amino acids, and their attachment to their specific soluble (transfer) RNA'S

698 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS and the final linking of the amino acids at the ribosomal sites according to the coding contained in the messenger RNA. A further section correlates the morphology of the cell with the process of protein synthesis. Other chapters, which are also contributed by authors who are active workers in the field, are concerned mainly with the techniques used. A. yon der Decken ("Meth- odological aspects of protein synthesis in mammalian systems") deals with the radio- active techniques involved in the incorporation of labelled amino acids into proteins both in vivo and in vitro, and the determination of radioactivity in proteins. J. R. Sargent ("Biosynthesis of specific proteins in mammalian systems") discusses the techniques which have been used in studies of the biosynthesis of haemoglobin and of proteins in liver, mammary gland, pancreas and oviduct. M. S. Bretscher and O. W. Jones ("The biochemistry of the genetic code") deal with the techniques used to correlate specific amino acids with specific base triplets. And K. S. Kirby ("Isolation of ribonucleic acids for studies in protein biosynthesis") writes about transfer RNA, ribosomal RNA, and messenger RNA. Finally, various general techniques are given in a brief appendix. This book is aimed primarily at the intending specialist, but the lengthy intro- duction provides a useful review for the general reader. B.G. OVERELL ']?HE PALLADIUM HYDROGEN SYSTEM. F.A. Lewis Pp. xii + 178 q- Ill. (1967). Academic Press, London/New York. 45s. $9.00 As the author states in the preface the palladium-hydrogen system has been perhaps the most extensively experimentally investigated metal-gas system. It is of considerable interest both from the practical and the theoretical standpoint. Probably we are all familiar with the use of palladium as an hydrogenation catalyst but less familiar with its other uses such as a diffusion membrane and in the separation of hydrogen isotopes. This book is a concise and thorough review of all the work on the palladium- hydrogen system and includes work published as recently as 1966. The usual high production standard of Academic Press is attained and the book includes a compre- hensive subject index and a combined reference and author index. For those with an especial interest in this subject this should prove a valuable source book. R. P. REEVES