Isoenzymes By D.W. Moss (review)

essays. The last essay of this section, by Bernard Anderson, professor emeritus of Old Testament theology at Princeton Seminary, was my favorite. In it, Professor Anderson tries to convince the reader that the premise of "science versus religion" must be abandoned. The debate is not about whether "the biblical view of creation is either bad science or good science, depending on which side one takes in the controversy." Anderson asserts that the doctrine of creation developed in Genesis only makes sense within the religious, worship experience of a group of people. If we remove it from within the context by trying to make a scientific statement with it, we destroy its value and meaning as religious literature . To this entire collection, Frye has added two new essays of his own. The first is an introductory "Overview" in which he partially chronicles the history of the conflict between science and religion since Darwin's time. The closing Epilogue is entitled "The Two Books of God." In it Frye notes that for Christian believers throughout history, there have always been two books of God: scripture is the book of God's word, but nature is the book of God's work. The point of Frye's book is that to the religious believer these two books bring unique and distinct messages and that their meanings must not be confused. This book is essential reading for at least two distinct groups of scientists today. The first is composed of those individuals who have been interested in the creation-evolution controversy and its impact on society. For these individuals, the book focuses on a dimension of the controversy they may have overlooked. However, it is a dimension at the core of the controversy. A complete understanding of the conflict is impossible without addressing this religious dimension. The second group of scientists who will find value in this book is made up of those who still maintain some degree of a religious dimension in their lives. Because of the absolute nature of the creationist view, these individuals may have found the creationist attack on science and rationality to threaten this religious dimension of their own lives. Because of their excellence, skill, and insights, the essayists in this book provide an alternative to the creationist's fundamentalist and literalist religious views. It is an alternative that is not only consistent with a universe subject to rational study but that is totally grounded in that study. Rivers Singleton, Jr. School ofLife and Health Sciences and Centerfor Science and Culture University of Delaware Newark, Delaware 19716 Isoenzymes. By D.W. Moss. New York: Methuen, Inc., 1982. Pp. 204. $14.95. What are the general principles underlying enzyme polymorphism? This is the subject of this book. It is not a small task. As with its subject, this text has an interesting lineage. The first two editions appeared in 1965 and 1970, were written by J. H. Wilkinson, bore the same title, and were useful to the basic and the clinical scientist. Professor Wilkinson suggested that a new edition be written Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 28, 3 ¦ Spring 1985 \ 479 with the help of Professor Moss. Professor Wilkinson died before this could take place, and Professor Moss carried on alone. In this new text the author has departed from the more descriptive and phenomenological approach taken by his predecessor and presents a summary of the general principles that have evolved over the past 20 years. The principles are illustrated using 49 enzymes identified in the index. There are seven chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the history of the isoenzyme concept, being preceded by a brief retelling of the beginnings of enzymology to the present. It is only in the last 25 years that convincing evidence has become available that identical active centers are responsible for similar catalytic activity among enzymes and isoenzymes of similar function. In 1959, Markert and Moller found that the multiple forms of the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase were based on the aggregation of two different monomers separable electrophoretically by the starch gel method developed a few years before by Oliver Smithies and that they were identifiable by histochemical staining. Within 2 years this agar-based methodology was...