Cell and Molecular Biology: Concepts and Experiments, 8 edition

Book Preface

For the past two decades, Dr. Gerald Karp has written Cell and Molecular Biology: Concepts and Experiments. During this time, he has maintained a consistent focus on combining rigor with accessibility, so that even students without prior training in cell biology, molecular biology, or biochemistry have been able to learn cell biology not just as a collection of facts but as a process of discovery. The value of this approach is that the lessons learned extend far beyond the field of cell biology, and provide a way for students to learn how science works, how new experiments can overturn previous dogmas, and how new techniques can lead to groundbreaking discovery. This approach makes cell biology come alive.

After seven editions, Dr. Karp is ready to move on to other adventures. We are excited to take on the challenge of continuing Dr. Karp’s unique approach to teaching cell biology, while continuing to put students first. Our goal for this revision was to build upon Karp’s hallmark experimental approach by bringing in our own unique perspectives and harnessing today’s technology. With our new Experimental Walkthrough feature, available in WileyPLUS Learning Space, students can see first-hand how key experimental techniques are performed in the lab. These offer a mix of video, which show how researchers carry out experiments, and 3D animations that show a molecular-level view of how the experiments work. These Walkthroughs provide context and a visual explanation that helps make these important experimental techniques more concrete.

A solid understanding of quantitative concepts is becoming increasingly important within cell biology, but is an area that many students struggle with. To address this issue, we have also added another new video feature, called Quantitative Tutorials, to visually illustrate how to solve specific analytical questions at the end of each chapter. The Quantitative Tutorial provides an accessible, student‐friendly review of basic mathematical concepts used within the context of a biological problem, and will expand the available resources for quantitative and physical concepts within this 8th edition.

One key feature of the past editions was to highlight how cell biology impacts our daily lives, in terms of medicine and other areas of society. The Human Perspectives sections highlight human interest stories to reinforce and review basic cell biology, and also provide examples of how fundamental discoveries have progressed into clinical practice. We have expanded this feature so that now every chapter has at least one Human Perspectives section. As part of this feature we report on the latest clinical trials for various cell biology‐based therapies and drugs, a feature that we hope will inspire students who are pursuing careers in health sciences fields. In addition to the full Human Perspectives sections, each chapter is now introduced with a short “chapter opener” designed to generate enthusiasm about the science in each chapter through provocative issues or questions. We hope that this will give our readers the opportunity to think more about the links between science, society, and our place in the universe.

Working on the 8th edition side by side with Dr. Karp has given us renewed admiration for his writing and his ability to keep track of the cutting edge in the full range of topics that comprise cell and molecular biology. In this and future editions of Karp’s Cell and Molecular Biology: Concepts and Experiments, we are dedicated to carrying out Dr. Karp’s original mission of providing an interesting, modern and readable text that is grounded in the experimental approach. We welcome your ideas and feedback as we continue our work on this text, so please feel free to get in touch.