Exploring Some Of The Major Chemical Discoveries Of The Century

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 13 Feb 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Molecules That Changed the World, written by bestselling author and world-renowned chemist, Professor K.C. Nicolaou, and Dr. Tamsyn Montagnon, takes an in-depth look at some of the most famous and infamous natural substances in medicinal history. Professor Nicolaou, author or co-author nearly 700 publications and 55 patents, brings his unique insight as an investigative scientist and medicinal chemist to each of these revolutionary substances, exploring their discovery, chemistry and impact on both the modern world and medicine.

From the life-saving Taxol (paclitaxel), a medication that slows the growth of cancer cells, to the life-taking Brevetoxin, an extremely potent neurotoxin, Nicolaou and Montagnon accurately and enthusiastically explain the impact of these substances on everyday life.

"In many areas of the modern world molecules play an important role," stated Nicolaou. "For example, everyone needs Vitamin B12 for survival, and Aspirin is one of the most widely used pharmaceuticals in the world. The insight this book provides should prove useful to everyone from students, scientists and medical doctors to ordinary consumers."

Published by Wiley-VCH, this is an unbeatable resource providing an entertaining and educational glimpse into the history and discovery, the biology and medicine, and the chemistry and synthesis of more than 30 unique substances. Fully illustrated with rare photographs and images, Molecules That Changed the World, is not only a scientific journey, it also encapsulates the most important aspects of history of chemical discovery in the last 50 years.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Dr. K.C. Nicolaou currently serves as Chairman of the Department of Chemistry, is the Skaggs Professor of Chemical Biology and holds the Darlene Shiley Chair in Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute, and he is also a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla, California. He has been honored with more than forty national and international awards, including the Aspirin Prize (Spain), the Schering Prize (Germany), the August-Wilhelm-von-Hofmann-Denkmünze Award (Germany), the Rhone-Polenc Medal (Royal Society of Chemistry, U.K.), the Nagoya Gold Medal (Japan), the Bodossaki Prize (Greece), and the Linus Pauling Medal (American Chemical Society, USA). He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), and has twelve honorary degrees from various universities around the world.

Dr. Tamsyn Montagnon earned a Bachelor's degree (B.Sc.) in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Leeds and a Doctorate of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) from the University of Sussex. She was awarded the GlaxoWellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship and joined Nicolaou's group at The Scripps Research Institute (2001-2003). She is currently a Marie Curie Fellow within the Department of Chemistry of the University of Crete (Greece).

Molecules That Changed the World draws on the expertise of the authors who have an interest in chemical synthesis and molecular architecture as well as in the biological activities of natural and designed molecules. It is available online through Wiley-Blackwell.

Source: Tina Heuberger
Wiley-Blackwell