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The Color of North
The Molecular Language of Proteins and the Future of Life
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Shahir S. Rizk
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2025
About this book
Proteins link all life on Earth and enable its most astonishing capacities—from a firefly’s glow to the navigational abilities of migrating birds to human emotional experience. The Color of North explores the curious biology and immense impact of proteins, as well as the potential of engineered proteins to treat disease and restore our planet.
Reviews
An accessible look at some of the fascinating ways nature informs, and endlessly inspires, scientists.
-- Kirkus Reviews
-- Kirkus Reviews
Much of our perception of biology revolves around genes and DNA, which ignores the fact that genes code for proteins and that these proteins make life possible. The Color of North corrects this imbalance by taking us on a splendid voyage through the world of proteins and showing us the amazing range of things that proteins do—how they allow us to see, touch, smell, and even remember. This is done in a highly engaging form that interweaves the personal with the scientific.
-- Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel laureate and author of Why We Die
-- Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel laureate and author of Why We Die
In this highly readable and exciting book, Shahir Rizk and Maggie Fink have accomplished the miracle of making the invisible visible, and the inscrutable not only understandable but vividly dramatic. Proteins run our lives, and the lives of all the creatures around us. The Color of North takes us on a deep and extremely pleasurable dive into a subject that lies at the beating heart of animate creation.
-- Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus
-- Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus
The Color of North shines a brilliant light on the molecular magic underpinning life in all of its remarkable diversity—from the proteins that allow bacteria to thrive in boiling acid to those that give black mambas their deadly bite. Our increasing understanding of these essential building blocks of life is transforming medicine, agriculture, environmental science, and so much else. This book isn't just a terrific read, it's an essential primer on the past, present, and future of our living world.
-- Jamie Metzl, author of Superconvergence
-- Jamie Metzl, author of Superconvergence
This is biochemistry made engaging and personal. From a grandmother's cooking in Egypt to a longhorn beetle's survival in the Arctic cold, The Color of North reads like an illustrated travel journal.
-- Janelle Shane, author of You Look Like a Thing and I Love You
-- Janelle Shane, author of You Look Like a Thing and I Love You
It’s always a pleasure when science writing is personal, lyrical, and evocative. This deeply felt and well-researched love letter to proteins is great nerdy fun.
-- David J. Linden, author of Unique
-- David J. Linden, author of Unique
The Color of North is a whirlwind tour through the astounding universe of tiny molecular marvels we call proteins. Shahir Rizk and Maggie Fink vibrantly bring these discoveries to life and weave in personal stories to make this narrative as entertaining as it is enlightening.
-- Bill Sullivan, author of Pleased to Meet Me
-- Bill Sullivan, author of Pleased to Meet Me
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
April 1, 2025
eBook ISBN:
9780674300514
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
272
eBook ISBN:
9780674300514
Keywords for this book
amino acid; dna; rna; building blocks; genetic code; instructions; origins; proteomics; genomics; bioluminescence; green fluorescent protein; crispr; gfp; brainbow; ancient; immune system; extreme environments; plastic; antibiotic resistance; phages; ai; artificial intelligence; algorithms; deepmind; alphafold; folding; do plants remember; alpha helix; beta sheet; prion; arms race; venom; cotton mather; inoculation; lady mary wortly montagu; e coli bacteria; virus; tumor; directed evolution; alzheimers; als; aids; hiv; diabetes; denature
