Cell and Molecular Biology: What We Know & How We Found Out

Abstract

Most introductory science courses start with a discussion of scientific method, and this interactive electronic textbook, or iText is no exception. A key feature of the iText is its focus on experimental support for what we know about cell biology. Having a sense of how science is practiced and how investigators think about experimental results is essential to understanding the relationship of cell structure and function, not to mention the rest of the world around us. So we spend some time describing the methods of cell biologists and how they are applied to experimental design. Rather than trying to be a comprehensive reference book, the iText selectively details experiments that are the basis of our current understanding of the biochemical and molecular basis of cell structure and function.