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Essential Cell Biology
Essential Cell Biology , Second Edition contains basic, core knowledge about how cells work. It has a proven track record in providing students with a conceptual and accessible grounding in cell biology. The text and figures have been prepared to be easy-to-follow, accurate, clear and engaging for the introductory student. Each section follows logically from the previous one, telling a story, rather than being a collection of facts. Questions integrated throughout each chapter encourage the reader to pause, think about what they have read, and attempt to apply the new knowledge in ways that test their understanding. Based on user feedback, the Second Edition now offers increased coverage of genetics and more experimental background. It is completely up-to-date.
740 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1997
116 people are currently reading
1232 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Alberts
61 books40 followersBruce Michael Alberts (born April 14, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American biochemist and the Chancellor’s Leadership Chair in Biochemistry and Biophysics for Science and Education, emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco. He has done important work studying the protein complexes which enable chromosome replication when living cells divide. He is known as an original author of the "canonical, influential, and best-selling scientific textbook" Molecular Biology of the Cell, and as Editor-in-Chief of Science magazine.
Alberts was the president of the National Academy of Sciences from 1993 to 2005. He is known for his work in forming science public policy, and has served as United States Science Envoy to Pakistan and Indonesia. He has stated that "Science education should be about learning to think and solve problems like a scientist—insisting, for all citizens, that statements be evaluated using evidence and logic the way scientists evaluate statements." He is an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.
Alberts was the president of the National Academy of Sciences from 1993 to 2005. He is known for his work in forming science public policy, and has served as United States Science Envoy to Pakistan and Indonesia. He has stated that "Science education should be about learning to think and solve problems like a scientist—insisting, for all citizens, that statements be evaluated using evidence and logic the way scientists evaluate statements." He is an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
December 11, 2024
fire textbook, just finished reading it, 10/10 experience, loved biog1350
December 11, 2023
Top 3 fav protein duos:
1) Mad and Bub: spindle assembly goals
2) TOM and TIM: mitochondrial membrane(s) besties
4) CED-3/CED-4: we <3 cell death
Hope I don’t fail my exam!
1) Mad and Bub: spindle assembly goals
2) TOM and TIM: mitochondrial membrane(s) besties
4) CED-3/CED-4: we <3 cell death
Hope I don’t fail my exam!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2025
so fire🔥
June 30, 2014
I'm slightly conflicted as to what to say about this book? I'll start with the positives though.
Firstly, it's a great book with a lot of information and it's extremely easy to understand. It doesn't need anyone with any background knowledge to any of the subjects though basic scientific knowledge is preferred or else you will spend some extra time going through everything so you can comprehend it. It was recommended by my university course as the primary source book for the Cell Biology course. A+ for the diagrams and illustrations.
Okay, here is where I only give it the 4 starts instead of 5 (a 4.5 would be more fair to be honest, but this is why I don't like giving specific ratings...). There is a lot of missing information that can be essential depending on your course material. It does not cover everything in general. There is always something here or there that can be important and you don't understand the second paragraph because there is no further explanation nor can you look it up in the glossary. You end up having a certain idea but cannot grasp it fully because you weren't able to. My issue with that is, despite that you can look it up on the internet, you did not get the book to use another source to retrieve such information. Because it already has so much in-depth details about non-essentials, so why not use some of the energy on that on other things? Maybe the differences can be in the editions, or maybe it simply comes down to subjective impressions of the authors of the book. I will still recommend the book though. It does something, a lot of other educational books cannot do.
Firstly, it's a great book with a lot of information and it's extremely easy to understand. It doesn't need anyone with any background knowledge to any of the subjects though basic scientific knowledge is preferred or else you will spend some extra time going through everything so you can comprehend it. It was recommended by my university course as the primary source book for the Cell Biology course. A+ for the diagrams and illustrations.
Okay, here is where I only give it the 4 starts instead of 5 (a 4.5 would be more fair to be honest, but this is why I don't like giving specific ratings...). There is a lot of missing information that can be essential depending on your course material. It does not cover everything in general. There is always something here or there that can be important and you don't understand the second paragraph because there is no further explanation nor can you look it up in the glossary. You end up having a certain idea but cannot grasp it fully because you weren't able to. My issue with that is, despite that you can look it up on the internet, you did not get the book to use another source to retrieve such information. Because it already has so much in-depth details about non-essentials, so why not use some of the energy on that on other things? Maybe the differences can be in the editions, or maybe it simply comes down to subjective impressions of the authors of the book. I will still recommend the book though. It does something, a lot of other educational books cannot do.
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March 18, 2021the things I do to meet my reading challenge goals.
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December 31, 2023Ik heb mn vakken gehaald dus 👍🏻
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December 4, 2023Tentan godkänd!<3
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December 26, 2023Någon sa att man skulle läsa från pärm till pärm och det gjorde jag?! För cellbiologin på T1. Oklart om det gav mig något till tentan men tid tog det iaf det jullovet.
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November 1, 2025yes i am putting my uni reading because this torture of a book didn't let me continue reading emily bronte
August 27, 2025
Great summer reading
July 27, 2020
This in one of those EXCELLENT textbooks which are so well written that someone outside the biology discipline can read and come in very close terms with undergraduate level cell biology. Of course, it is meant to be a textbook for a semester long undergraduate/graduate course. However, if you didn't have the chance to take such a course, this book will help you get all that knowledge without the need of an instructor. The only downside will be the course assignments and project - which help get some hands-on experience with the concepts and techniques.
Since it is so easy to read (although be advised that it is VERY massive book so it will take about a month at ~1 chapter/day), I recommend it to anyone fascinated by the beauty in the details of biological systems.
Full chapter-wise review can be found here.
Since it is so easy to read (although be advised that it is VERY massive book so it will take about a month at ~1 chapter/day), I recommend it to anyone fascinated by the beauty in the details of biological systems.
Full chapter-wise review can be found here.
June 9, 2020
An extensive read that starts from the basics and goes into some more in depth information. You can get a solid foundation to pass your exam in cell biology. I would reccommend it to anyone who is interested in learning how cells function.
February 28, 2021
I recommend watching these alongside the book which 1:1 covers the same topics.
Also, recommend staying at about a chapter/day. I took this class a decade ago and failed it, much more fun now even without the chemistry (may or may not be needed?).
Also, recommend staying at about a chapter/day. I took this class a decade ago and failed it, much more fun now even without the chemistry (may or may not be needed?).
September 12, 2016
very helpful. I'm a visual learner so the DVD is great.
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August 11, 2011paradoxically, cell dynamics are more complex than organism dynamics. this is a really good introduction to the not-so-rigid building blocks of life.
January 4, 2015
Great book but there's a lot more complexity to cell biology that I didn't finding this...
July 28, 2022
great read!!!
October 24, 2023
too long cell bio is boring😿
September 10, 2024
liber xix akademik jom knaq te lexu nvit tpare
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April 6, 2023In all living cells, genetic information flows from DNA to RNA (transcription) and from RNA to protein (translation). together these processes are known as gene expression.
If cells are the fundamental unit of living matter, then nothing less than a cell can truly be called living. Viruses, for example, are compact packages of genetic information—in the form of DNA or RNA—usually encased in protein, but they have no ability to reproduce themselves by their own efforts. Instead, they get themselves copied by parasitizing the reproductive machinery of the cells that they invade. Thus, viruses are chemical zombies
The transmission electron microscope (TEM) is in principle similar to a light microscope, but it uses a beam of electrons instead of a beam of light, and magnetic coils to focus the beam instead of glass lenses. The TEM has a useful magnification of up to a million-fold and with biological specimens can resolve details as small as about 2 nm.
Organisms whose cells have a nucleus are called eucaryotes
Organisms whose cells do not have a nucleus are called procaryotes
a procaryotic cell can duplicate itself in as little as 20 minutes. In 11 hours, by repeated divisions, a single procaryote can give rise to more than 8 billion progeny (which exceeds the total number of humans presently on Earth) Thanks to their large numbers, rapid growth rates, and ability to exchange bits of genetic material by a process akin to sex, populations of procaryotic cells can evolve fast, rapidly acquiring the ability to use a new food source or to resist being killed by a new antibiotic.
Chromosomes become visible when a cell is about to divide.
we understand the workings of E. coli more thoroughly than those of any other living organism.
Your next-door neighbor has our next-door neighbor has donated $100 in support of cancer donated $100 in support of cancer research and is horrified to learn research and is horrified to learn that her money is being spent on your next-door neighbor has donated $100 in support of cancer research and is horrified to learn that her money is being spent on studying brewer’s yeast. how could you put her mind at ease?
Caenorhabditis elegans was the first multicellular organism to have its complete genome sequenced.
A mole will contain 6 x 10^23 molecules of the substance. 1 mole of carbon weighs 12 g.
The mass of an atom or a molecule is generally specified in daltons, one dalton being an atomic mass unit approximately equal to the mass of a hydrogen atom.
An individual carbon atom is roughly 0.2 nm in diameter, so that it would take about 5 million of them, laid out in a straight line, to span a millimeter.
(6 x 10^23, called Avogadro’s number) is the key scale factor describing the relationship between everyday quantities and numbers of individual atoms
Living organisms, however, are made of only a small selection of these elements, four of which—carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), and oxygen (O)—make up 96.5% of an organism��s weight.
Bond strength is measured by the amount of energy that must be supplied to break a bond, usually expressed in units of either kilocalories per mole (kcal/mole) or kilojoules per mole (kJ/mole).
Acids are characterized as being strong or weak, depending on how readily they give up their protons to water. Strong acids, such as hydrochloric acid (HCl), lose their protons quickly.
Weak chemical bonds have less than 1/20 the strength of a strong covalent bond.
If cells are the fundamental unit of living matter, then nothing less than a cell can truly be called living. Viruses, for example, are compact packages of genetic information—in the form of DNA or RNA—usually encased in protein, but they have no ability to reproduce themselves by their own efforts. Instead, they get themselves copied by parasitizing the reproductive machinery of the cells that they invade. Thus, viruses are chemical zombies
The transmission electron microscope (TEM) is in principle similar to a light microscope, but it uses a beam of electrons instead of a beam of light, and magnetic coils to focus the beam instead of glass lenses. The TEM has a useful magnification of up to a million-fold and with biological specimens can resolve details as small as about 2 nm.
Organisms whose cells have a nucleus are called eucaryotes
Organisms whose cells do not have a nucleus are called procaryotes
a procaryotic cell can duplicate itself in as little as 20 minutes. In 11 hours, by repeated divisions, a single procaryote can give rise to more than 8 billion progeny (which exceeds the total number of humans presently on Earth) Thanks to their large numbers, rapid growth rates, and ability to exchange bits of genetic material by a process akin to sex, populations of procaryotic cells can evolve fast, rapidly acquiring the ability to use a new food source or to resist being killed by a new antibiotic.
Chromosomes become visible when a cell is about to divide.
we understand the workings of E. coli more thoroughly than those of any other living organism.
Your next-door neighbor has our next-door neighbor has donated $100 in support of cancer donated $100 in support of cancer research and is horrified to learn research and is horrified to learn that her money is being spent on your next-door neighbor has donated $100 in support of cancer research and is horrified to learn that her money is being spent on studying brewer’s yeast. how could you put her mind at ease?
Caenorhabditis elegans was the first multicellular organism to have its complete genome sequenced.
A mole will contain 6 x 10^23 molecules of the substance. 1 mole of carbon weighs 12 g.
The mass of an atom or a molecule is generally specified in daltons, one dalton being an atomic mass unit approximately equal to the mass of a hydrogen atom.
An individual carbon atom is roughly 0.2 nm in diameter, so that it would take about 5 million of them, laid out in a straight line, to span a millimeter.
(6 x 10^23, called Avogadro’s number) is the key scale factor describing the relationship between everyday quantities and numbers of individual atoms
Living organisms, however, are made of only a small selection of these elements, four of which—carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), and oxygen (O)—make up 96.5% of an organism��s weight.
Bond strength is measured by the amount of energy that must be supplied to break a bond, usually expressed in units of either kilocalories per mole (kcal/mole) or kilojoules per mole (kJ/mole).
Acids are characterized as being strong or weak, depending on how readily they give up their protons to water. Strong acids, such as hydrochloric acid (HCl), lose their protons quickly.
Weak chemical bonds have less than 1/20 the strength of a strong covalent bond.
December 23, 2021
Was close to giving it 4 stars, but for what the book sets out to do it does a great job! Read as part of a course in medical cell biology at Uppsala University. If I only relied on the book I feel my chances of passing the exam would be slim, since the lectures go much more in-depth than the book. However, if reading the book as complementary to other sources it is fantastic, since it presents the basic concepts in a very good way, and often if the content of a lecture flew over my head I could trust the book to give an understanding of the essentials. So, the only downside of the book being the lack of details sometimes, but it is also the advantage since it is such an easy read and you do pick up most of the important concepts.
Overall, a very good introduction to cell biology which could be read without much or any prior experience in the natural sciences (trust me I could understand the little bit of chemistry there was and I am absolutely terrible at it).
Overall, a very good introduction to cell biology which could be read without much or any prior experience in the natural sciences (trust me I could understand the little bit of chemistry there was and I am absolutely terrible at it).
December 13, 2022
I recently read Essential Cell Biology and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the field. The book is written in a very clear and concise manner that is not overly technical like most medical books. It contains great examples of medical cases that help to bring the material to life. The visuals of the cell activities are also well done and help to explain the concepts in an easy to understand way. Overall, I think Essential Cell Biology is a great book for anyone interested in the field and I would definitely recommend it!
January 18, 2021
Great textbook, very informative and detailed. The only downside for me is that the structural descriptions of the organelles are scattered throughout several chapters each (in most cases). It would be easier to follow the metabolic pathways, which is the way the chapters are organized, if you get an overview of the cell compartments first.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2020
It really helped me on my cell biology studies. The images and graphics are very clear and simple supporting very well the text facilitating and easing the learning.
I really recommend it if your studding biology.
I really recommend it if your studding biology.
February 16, 2023
Li na 4ª edição da Artmed. Mais aprofundado, melhores ilustrações e cobre uma gama maior de conteúdos do que o livro de De Robertis e o de Carneiro & Junqueira. Pode pecar um pouco na didática, em alguns capítulos, para os que não são iniciados em biologia molecular.
June 2, 2025
Pretty decent for a textbook - although the chapters were quite long sometimes. It also seemed like often there would be a topic mentioned very briefly, with a lack of detail to help the reader understand its importance.
January 7, 2018
Chapter 20 beautifully summarizes the biology of cancer, wish I came across this earlier. So well written!
August 27, 2019
Textbooks — bleh
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June 17, 2020Can I Read Book online with out purchase
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews