Spinach on the ceiling: a theoretical chemist's return to biology

An autobiog. of Martin Karplus, who was born in Vienna and came to the United States as a refugee in Oct. 1938, is presented. This experience played an important role in his view of the world and my approach to science: It contributed to his realization that it was safe to stop working in fields that he felt he understood and to focus on different areas of research by asking questions that would teach him and others something new. He describe the experiences that led him from chem. and physics back to his first love, biol., and outline some of the contributions he has made as part of his ongoing learning experience.