Following on from Advances in BioChirality, Progress in Biological Chirality provides a unique summary and review of the most recent developments in the field of biochirality. Living organisms use only one enantiomer of chiral molecules in the majority of biologically important processes. The exact origin and mechanisms for this surprising selectivity are not yet known. This book discusses current research aimed at identifying the scientific reasons that may contribute to this phenomenon.

Progress in Biological Chirality takes an interdisciplinary approach to this exciting field, covering a wide range of topics, such as, theory, palaeontology and food technology, to name but a few. This book presents findings via a broad spectrum of scientific approaches making it an excellent overview of Biological Chirality, suitable for postgraduate students, practitioners and researchers in the field of chemistry, biochemistry, biology, palaeontology, and food science with an interest in Chirality.
* This book contains 32 chapters written by Authors, who are leading authorities in the field
* Presents the most recent research taking place in this highly challenging field
* Contains both reference material for the specialist and provides an overview for those who are interested in the fundamental problems of biology and chemistry.

The promise of better living through chemistry has not always been kept. Chemical techniques were used to produce both penicillin and dynamite, penicillin can have harmful side effects while dynamite has beneficial uses. Insecticides have helped alleviate world hunger while they have disrupted global ecosystems. Numerous petrochemicals have made life both easier and more hazardous.The Two Faces of Chemistry presents a balanced view, weighing the assets and dangers of the whole range of modern chemical compounds and their byproducts, including food additives, "natural" foods, fertilizers, pesticides, drugs and other medications, cosmetics, soaps and detergents, plastics, artificial rubber, fluorocarbons, and leaded gasoline. Caglioti, an organic chemist who has written widely in the popular press, not only makes all this material clear and understandable to readers without technical background but also captures the drama that accompanied the development of new products and the revelation, often years later, that they could lead to devastating results. In each case - for example, in his accounts of "the saccharin mess" and "the Pill" - he carefully sifts through all the accumulated layers of controversy in order to arrive at an unbiased evaluation and assessment of risk.The book's coverage is worldwide, but most of the data is taken from those countries that use chemicals intensively: the United States, Western Europe, and Japan.The writer and chemist Primo Levi, states in his Foreword that "underneath the statistics and technical data, which with good reason are plentiful, there flows through this book a silent current of wisdom, educational intent, and morality. While it does not attempt to dictate solutions, by its very character it teaches us how best to go about finding them."Luciano Caglioti is Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Rome.