David G. Nicholls

I have been researching into bioenergetics and mitochondrial function for almost 50 years, and have published more than 280 research papers and reviews. The first edition of Bioenergetics, published in 1982, was designed to introduce the novel concepts that Nobel Laureate Peter Mitchell put forward - his "Chemiosmotic Hypothesis"- to a general audience of biochemists, physiologists and biologists, and to explain the beautiful simplicity of the basic concepts. This seems to have been successful, since the first 3 editions, published at roughly 10 year intervals, have sold an aggregate 16,000 copies. From the second edition onwards, I have worked with my co-author, Stuart Ferguson, to combine functional and structural information into a single volume. This current edition, Bioenergetics 4, published in June 2013, is not only completely updated to include molecular mechanisms derived from the proliferation of crystal structures now available, but contains an entire section on 'mitochondrial physiology', reflecting the explosive growth in the investigation of the roles of mitochondria in the normal physiology of the cell and in pathological changes associated with aging and disease (more than 100,000 articles published in the past decade).

We have aimed to create a one-stop resource for classical mitochondriologists, bacteriologists, photosynthesis researchers and cell biologists, covering the fundamentals of the chemiosmotic theory, recent advances in the structure and function of mitochondrial and photosynthetic complexes, techniques for monitoring the function of isolated mitochondria and mitochondria in intact cells, oxidative stress, fission and fusion, transport, biosynthesis, quality control, signal transduction etc., together with a critical analysis of current evidence for and against the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction in aging and aging-related diseases including cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases. We cite some 400 recent authoritative reviews for further reading. For your interest, the publishers have made all the figures freely available on their website for downloading for teaching purposes.

I continue research, but am increasingly focusing on teaching the principles of bioenergetics to as wide an audience as possible - and that is the impetus behind this book.