Cover of The Molecule Hunters: a willow tree and retort, a metabolic cycle, ATP synthase, and a folded protein threaded by a teal-and-ochre trail

The Molecule Hunters

How Biochemists Decoded the Chemistry of Life

  • 133 profiles
  • 190 scientists
  • 11 parts
  • 500+ student co-authors

Or read it free — same book, no catch:

Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free to share for non-commercial use. The paperback and Kindle editions exist for people who prefer them; the text is the same.

The open archive

Every profile began as a deep-research dossier, and not everything made the final cut. The full research archive — including 68 profiles from the cutting-room floor — is public.

The audiobook cover: an engraved hand lowering a sprig of leaves into a retort flask, on cream graph paper. Edited by Christopher Deppmann and Abbie Oliver, with the students of UVA Biochemistry.

The audiobook

Thirteen chapters, 11.4 hours. This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice, and we are open about that. Heard a name mispronounced? Tell us below and we will fix it in the next render.

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Corrections & requests

A book with 190 scientists in it will contain mistakes, and we would rather hear about them than not. Spotted a factual error or a typo? Want to suggest a scientist for a future edition? Did the audiobook mangle a name? This form goes straight to us.

Pronunciation details