Karp’s Cell and Molecular Biology 9th Edition

Book Preface

For over two decades, Dr. Gerald Karp wrote, and continuously revised, Cell and Molecular
Biology: Concepts and Experiments. During this time, he 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 was ready to move on to other adventures. We were 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 has been 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.

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.

In the ninth edition we have introduced two new sections for each chapter. Green Cells
sections highlight important features of plant cell biology that underscore central concepts
from each chapter and illustrate how the study of plants has informed our understanding of
cells in general. Engineering Linkages sections address the interface between cell biology
and biomedical engineering and are intended to make the cell biology material more
accessible for engineering students while introducing biology students to important trends in
bioengineering.

Working on the 9th edition has given us renewed admiration for Dr. Karp’s 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 experimentalapproach. We welcome your ideas and feedback as we continue our work on this text, so please feel free to get in touch.

Janet Iwasa ([email protected])
Wallace Marshall ([email protected])
WileyPLUS
WileyPLUS connects the text to carefully selected video, animations, and diagrams, and
provides students many opportunities for self-study and practice. Instructors can customize
their course content for students, create online homework and quizzes, and have insight into
student activity through data analytics and reporting features. To try it, visit
www.wileyplus.com. Here are some of the resources available in WileyPLUS:

Experimental Walkthrough Videos
Quantitative Tutorial Videos
Cell View Animations
Video Library
Biology Basics Animations
Instructor’s Manual
Clicker Questions
Lecture PowerPoint Presentations
Testbank and Answer KeyAcknowledgments

Gerald Karp, who dedicated many years to carefully and thoughtfully writing and editing this
text, has left a remarkable legacy that we are grateful to inherit. In putting together this
edition, we continue to be thankful for his insight, wisdom, and advice that was always
cheerfully and generously provided to us when we first took on the project.

We are grateful to many individuals at John Wiley & Sons who made this edition possible.
Kevin Witt brought us on board at the beginning stages and infused us with his enthusiasm
for the project. For the ninth edition, we are incredibly appreciative of all of the assistance we
have received from our Wiley team, especially Maria Guarascio, Georgia Larsen, Lauren
Elfers, and Alan Halfen. We thank Karen Trost for her sharp eyes and careful editing of the
text and Tristann Jones from Lumina Datamatics for coordinating the text production.
In preparing the 9th edition we are grateful for the instructors and students who have
pointed out errors and omissions, or suggested new points of interest. In writing the Green
Cells and Engineering Linkage sections, we benefited from helpful discussions with Liz
Haswell (Washington University), Magdalena Bezanilla (Dartmouth University), and
Hongmin Qin (Texas A&M).

Janet Iwasa thanks Rob Savage, Dyche Mullins, and Jack Szostak, for inspiring and guiding
her along the path toward becoming a biologist. Janet is particularly grateful for the support
of her family, Adam, Aki, and Kenzo, and the lifelong encouragement of her parents, Kuni
and Mieko.

Wallace Marshall thanks his scientific mentors, Rolf Sternglanz, John Sedat, and Joel
Rosenbaum, for launching him in the direction that he went. He thanks his parents, Clifford
and Adele Marshall, for making him who he is. And he thanks his family, Jennifer and
Wyeth, for continued inspiration and support