Synopses & Reviews
The cell is the basic building block of life. In its 3.5 billion years on the planet, it has proven to be a powerhouse, spreading life first throughout the seas, then across land, developing the rich and complex diversity of life that populates the planet today. and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
With The Cell: A Visual Tour of the Building Block of Life, Jack Challoner treats readers to a visually stunning tour of these remarkable molecular machines. Most of the living things weandrsquo;re familiar withandmdash;the plants in our gardens, the animals we eatandmdash;are composed of billions or trillions of cells. Most multicellular organisms consist of many different types of cells, each highly specialized to play a particular roleandmdash;from building bones or producing the pigment in flower petals to fighting disease or sensing environmental cues. But the great majority of living things on our planet exist as single cell. These cellular singletons are every bit as successful and diverse as multicellular organisms, and our very existence relies on them.
The book is an authoritative yet accessible account of what goes on inside every living cellandmdash;from building proteins and producing energy to making identical copies of themselvesandmdash;and the importance of these chemical reactions both on the familiar everyday scale and on the global scale. Along the way, Challoner sheds light on many of the most intriguing questions guiding current scientific research: What special properties make stem cells so promising in the treatment of injury and disease? How and when did single-celled organisms first come together to form multicellular ones? And how might scientists soon be prepared to build on the basic principles of cell biology to build similar living cells from scratch.
Synopsis
Essential Cell Biology provides a readily accessible introduction to the central concepts of cell biology, and its lively, clear writing and exceptional illustrations make it the ideal textbook for a first course in both cell and molecular biology. The text and figures are easy-to-follow, accurate, clear, and engaging for the introductory student. Molecular detail has been kept to a minimum in order to provide the reader with a cohesive conceptual framework for the basic science that underlies our current understanding of all of biology, including the biomedical sciences.
The Fourth Edition has been thoroughly revised, and covers the latest developments in this fast-moving field, yet retains the academic level and length of the previous edition. The book is accompanied by a rich package of online student and instructor resources, including over 130 narrated movies, an expanded and updated Question Bank.
Essential Cell Biology, Fourth Edition is additionally supported by the Garland Science Learning System. This homework platform is designed to evaluate and improve student performance and allows instructors to select assignments on specific topics and review the performance of the entire class, as well as individual students, via the instructor dashboard. Students receive immediate feedback on their mastery of the topics, and will be better prepared for lectures and classroom discussions. The user-friendly system provides a convenient way to engage students while assessing progress. Performance data can be used to tailor classroom discussion, activities, and lectures to address students needs precisely and efficiently. For more information and sample material, visit http: //garlandscience.rocketmix.com/.
"
About the Author
Jack Challoner is the author of more than thirty books on science and technology. He also works as an independent science consultant for print, radio and TV.