Hacker News Comments on
Biochemical Pathways: An Atlas of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
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Hacker News Stories and Comments
All the comments and stories posted to Hacker News that reference this book.Book:Biochemical Pathways: An Atlas of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology:
https://www.amazon.com/Biochemical-Pathways-Biochemistry-Mol...
The background about these posters:https://www.roche.com/sustainability/philanthropy/science_ed...
The book (2012):
https://www.amazon.com/Biochemical-Pathways-Biochemistry-Mol...
From the the accompanying text of the paper posters (all emphasis mine), it can be seen that the paper posters showed just a convenient selection of all the relevant knowledge:
"In the wall chart “Biochemical Pathways” the following principles were applied:"
"The selection of reactions has to be made arbitrarily. Of course, no discussion is necessary about e. g. glycolysis, protein biosynthesis and other central reactions. Peripheral reaction pathways are preferably selected if they are of high interest in biochemical, medical or biological research (receptors, vitamins, antibiotics, compounds of importance in regulation etc.), if they are of interest in medicine (e.g. blood coagulation, complement system), if they lead to important end products (e.g. microbiological fermentations) or if they enable comparison of phylogenetic development (anaerobic/aerobic respiration or photosynthesis in various species).
Some indication on the degree of selection can be taken from the fact that in the present “Pathways” about 1000 enzymes are shown, while the 1984 “Enzyme Nomenclature” with its 2 supplements names 2859 enzymes. Estimations of the number of proteins (with and without enzymatic activity) in a single mammalian cell are in the order of magnitude of 30000."
"e) In general, we desisted from showing detailed reaction mechanisms. Only in cases where discrete steps (e. g. in multi-enzyme systems) are involved or well-characterized intermediates exist, single steps are given. The same holds true for receptor-activation steps etc.
f) The interrelationships of metabolic pathways cause the biggest technical problem of graphical representation. Since many compounds take part in various pathways, one would obtain a “spider web” of lines criss-crossing the whole chart. In order to avoid this, one has to “cut” connections. The respective compounds, which reoccur in other places of the chart, are written here in sharp-edged boxes."