Helmut Sigel, Astrid Sigel and Roland K.O. Sigel, in close cooperation with John Wiley & Sons, launch a new Series "Metal Ions in Life Sciences". The philosophy of the Series is based on the one successfully applied to a previous series published by another publisher, but the move from "biological systems" to "life sciences" will open the aims and scope and allow for the publication of books touching on the interface between chemistry, biology, pharmacology, biochemistry and medicine. Volume 2 focuses on the vibrant research area concerning nickel as well as its complexes and their role in Nature. With more than 2,800 references and over 130 illustrations, it is an essential resource for scientists working in the wide range from inorganic biochemistry all the way through to medicine.
In 17 stimulating chapters, written by 47 internationally recognized experts, Nickel and Its Surprising Impact in Nature highlights critically the biogeochemistry of nickel, its role in the environment, in plants and cyanobacteria, as well as for the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori, for gene expression and carcinogenensis. In addition, it covers the complex-forming properties of nickel with amino acids, peptides, phosphates, nucleotides, and nucleic acids. The volume also provides sophisticated insights in the recent progress made in understanding the role of nickel in enzymes such as ureases, hydrogenases, superoxide dismutases, acireductone dioxygenases, acetyl-coenzyme A synthases, carbon monoxide dehydrogenases, methyl-coenzyme M reductases...and it reveals the chaperones of nickel metabolism.
About the Author: Astrid Sigel has studied languages and was an editor of the Metal Ions in Biological Systems series (until Volume 44) and also of the Handbooks on Toxicity of Inorganic Compounds (1988), on Metals in Clinical and Analytical Chemistry (1994; both with H.G. Seiler), and on Metalloproteins (2001; with Ivano Bertini) (Dekker, New York). Helmut Sigel is Emeritus Professor (2003) of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and a previous editor of the MIBS series until Volume 44. He serves on various editorial and advisory boards, published over 300 articles on metal ion complexes of nucleotides, coenzymes, and other ligands of biological relevance, and lectured worldwide. He was named Protagonist in Chemistry (2002) by ICA (issue 339); among further honors are the P. Ray Award (Indian Chemical Society, of which he is also an Honorary Fellow), the Werner Award (Swiss Chemical Society), a Doctor of Science honoris causa degree (Kalyani University, India), appointments as Visiting Professor (e.g., Austria, China, UK) and Endowed Lectureships.
Roland K.O. Sigel is Assistant Professor (2003) of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Zürich, Switzerland, endowed with a Förderungsprofessur of the Swiss National Science Foundation. He received his doctoral degree summa cum laude (1999) from the University of Dortmund, Germany, working with Bernhard Lippert; thereafter he spent nearly three years at Columbia University, New York, USA, in the group of Anna Marie Pyle (now Yale University); during the six years abroad he received several fellowships from various sources. His research focuses on the structural and catalytic role of metal ions in ribozymes, especially group II introns, and on related topics. He was also an editor of Volumes 43 and 44 of the MIBS series.
