Abstract

Harold J Morowitz--------------__, Another annual cycle inevitably passed and the pain was eased by a humor­ ous birthday card from my daughter and son-in-law. The front bore the cap­ tion "According to BIO-CHEMISTS the materials that make up the HU­ MAN BODY are only worth 97¢" (Hallmark zsB 12.1-8, 1975). Before I could get to the birthday greeting I began to think that if the materials are only worth ninety-seven cents, my colleagues and I are really being taken by the biochemical supply companies. Lest the granting agencies were to find out first, I decided to make a thorough study of the entire matter. I started by sitting down with my catalogue from the (name deleted) Bio­ chemical Co. and began to list the ingredients. Hemoglobin was $2..95 a gram, purified trypsin was $36 a gram, and crystalline insulin was $47.50 a gram. I began to look at slightly less common constituents such as acetate ki­ nase at $8,86o a gram, alkaline phosphatase at $2.2.5 a gram, and NADP at $2.45 a gram. Hyaluronic acid was $175 a gram, while bilirubin was a bargain at $12. a gram. Human DNA was $768 a gram, while collagen was as little