An Introduction - Bioelectronics, Cellular Regulation and Cancer - Albert Szent-Györgyi

This podcast was generated by Google’s NotebookLM. Both voices are AI generated. This book, written by Albert Szent-Györgyi in 1968, examines biological phenomena through the lens of bioelectronics, suggesting that electrons, rather than just molecules, are the driving force of life. The author uses the analogy of a dynamo to illustrate how electrons carry energy, charge, and information. Szent-Györgyi introduces a new energy scale called biopotentials (B), based on the energy required to oxidise a substance to water, rather than using the conventional infinity as a reference point. He then explores various mechanisms of electron transfer, such as charge transfer and energy bands, to explain how electrons move within and between molecules in biological systems. The book argues for the importance of charge transfer reactions and the balance of electron donors and acceptors in regulating cellular processes. Szent-Györgyi then goes on to propose that the methylglyoxal molecule, a ketoaldehyde, is a key regulator of cell division, and that cancer may arise from a failure to bind and inactivate the glyoxalase enzyme, which normally decomposes methylglyoxal. The book concludes by advocating for a more dynamic understanding of the electron's role in biological phenomena, emphasizing that biology is an electrical system driven by the flow of electrons, not just the interaction of molecules. ————— Albert Imre Szent-Györgyi de Nagyrápolt was a Hungarian biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937. He is credited with first isolating vitamin C and discovering many of the components and reactions of the citric acid cycle and the molecular basis of muscle contraction. He was also active in the Hungarian Resistance during World War II, and entered Hungarian politics after the war.