Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 29 (2001) 126–133
Book reviews
Molecular Cell Biology (4th edition)
Harvey Lodish, Arnold Berk, S. Lawrence Zipursky,
Paul Matsudaira, David Baltimore and James Darnell;
Freeman & Co., New York, NY, 2000, 1084 pp., list
price $102.25, ISBN 0-7167-3136-3
Cell biology distinguishes itself from biochemistry
and molecular biology in its approach, relating mole-
cular structure and biochemical mechanisms to larger-
scale cellular processes. Cell biologists have the challen-
ging task of merging reductionist experimental science
with a systems approach to understanding cellular
processes that cannot otherwise be understood. In the
minds of many traditional biochemists and molecular
biologists, cell biology is still considered a purely
descriptive science. Yet, cell biologists have approached
important problems in cell biology in a much more
quantitative manner than their molecular biology
colleagues. Cell motility and mitosis cannot be appre-
ciated as an algorithm of interacting proteins. These
processes can only be understood by the quantitative
features of polymer assembly-disassembly and binding
interactions with other cellular structures. Ironically, the
microscope, regarded largely as a descriptive tool, has
been a key resource in developing this new quantitative
approach to cell biology. Indeed, cell biology remains a
wonderfully visual science, as anyone who has looked in
its leading journals in the last decade or so will know.
While genomics and proteomics dominate the headlines,
cell biology has quietly emerged as perhaps the avant
garde subcellular biology in the last decade. None of the
cell biology textbooks discussed below really convey the
bold new direction in which cell biology has embarked.
Nonetheless, if I could only have one cell biology text on
my bookshelf, I would choose Molecular Cell Biology by
Lodish, Berk, Zipursky, Matsudaira, Baltimore, and
Darnell.
In this review, I will compare features of Molecular
Cell Biology by Lodish et al. with the major cell biology
texts that are currently available, and review specific
features of this excellent text. There are five major cell
biology texts of which I am aware: World of the Cell by
Becker, Hardin, and Kleinsmith (fourth edition); The
Cell by Geoffrey Cooper (second edition); Cell and
Molecular Biology by Karp (second edition); Molecular
Biology of the Cell by Alberts, Bray, Raff, Roberts, and
Watson (third edition); and Molecular Cell Biology
(fourth edition). These five major texts can be grouped
into two categories: (1) modest-sized texts that focus on
the central well-established ideas in cell biology with a
modest amount of ancillary material; and (2) large,
encyclopedic texts that present not only the basic ideas
of cell biology but also a wealth of detailed information.
These larger texts also come with more ancillary
materials, especially Molecular Biology of the Cell.
Molecular Cell Biology, in its fourth edition, at 1084
pages is nearly 300 pages shorter than its predecessor.
This is largely due to smaller print and smaller figures,
which in no way diminish the readability of the text.
Molecular Cell Biology stands out as a text directed for
advanced undergraduates and graduate students. In
contrast, the other texts can easily serve as introductory
texts for a much broader range of undergraduates.
So, which text does one use to teach cell biology? This
depends on how one intends to use a textbook. For most
students, the more detail there is in a text, the more
difficult it is to read it for understanding. Hence, if one
relies on the text to serve as a major teaching tool in
developing understanding, then the texts by Becker et al.,
Cooper, and Karp are probably better. These are all fine
books, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
On the other hand, if one wants the text to serve
primarily as a resource and is confident that the students
can handle a large volume of factual information, then
the texts by Alberts et al. or Lodish et al. are definitely
the way to go. Of these two texts, Molecular Biology of
the Cell (Alberts et al.) reaches an undergraduate
audience more effectively in its writing style and
sophistication of presentation. Often, Molecular Cell
Biology reads more like a review article than a text
designed for undergraduates.
Both Molecular Cell Biology and Molecular Biology of
the Cell use assertive statement headings; however,
Molecular Biology of the Cell uses the headings to break
up the text into relatively small segments. Molecular
Biology of the Cell provides review references as
superscripts to each subheading; whereas, Molecular
Cell Biology places the citation of review references at
the end of each chapter. Citations in both books focus
largely on review articles. One requirement of a resource
text is an exhaustive index, and both texts have
satisfying indices. Visually, I prefer the figures in
Molecular Cell Biology to those in the other cell biology
texts; they have the clarity one expects from Freeman
& Co.
A nice feature in Molecular Cell Biology is the
MCAT–GRE style questions at the end of each chapter,
 Book reviews / Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 29 (2001) 126–133
in which the student is asked to go back and read a
section of the text and answer several questions related
to the passage. Many of these are quite good, and useful
to students. The end of the chapter also includes more
traditional review questions, as does the student
companion volume discussed below.
Molecular Cell Biology has brief sections on applica-
tions of new findings in cell biology to medicine,
biotechnology, and plant biology, which are features
found in many recent biochemistry texts and in the
Becker, Cooper, and Karp cell biology texts. These
sections are marked by icons, and are generally quite
short. I wish that these sections were a bit more
elaborate, similar to what is found in the Becker,
Cooper, and Karp texts, wherein key citations of the
literature are included and discussed. The authors of
Molecular Cell Biology end each chapter with two
sections ‘‘Perspectives in the Literature’’ and
‘‘Perspectives for the Future’’. I think ‘‘Perspectives in
the Literature’’ is inspired pedagogy. Here, students are
directed to answer important biological questions as
they read a small collection of primary research papers.
On the other hand, the ‘‘Perspectives for the Future’’ is
largely uninspiring. The authors’ comments do not
really look far into the future but merely suggest
directions similar to those I have seen in the NewYork
Times. To give one example, the authors ignore
important work in the integration of the three major
cytoskeletal systems in generating and maintaining cell
structure, force-generation, and cell signaling in the
appropriate chapters. This emerging synthesis is already
generating bold new perspectives into the nature of cell
signaling, cell movement, and metabolic regulation. In
any case, I expected a bolder, far-reaching approach
from such prominent scientists.
Molecular Cell Biology has several key ancillary
materials. The CD-ROM is nice and has a unique
feature in the presentation of classic experiments;
unfortunately, only eleven are presented. However, I
expect more to become available at the text’s web site.
The animations in the CD-ROM are good but still
rather rudimentary. I think more robust animations of
processes such as the formation of transcriptional
initiation complexes, cell signaling, and cytoskeletal
dynamics are now possible and should be what one
encounters in these supplements. Further, I think it is
time to see more interactive self-testing and problem
solving in these supplements. The simple multiple-choice
problems that one finds here are fine but rather
pedestrian. The ‘‘Interactive Macromolecular Tutorials’’
by David Marcey for Molecular Cell Biology are based
on Chime computer technology. They are nicely done
and informative; however, they are hardly what I would
call a genuine tutorial, in the sense that the students are
guided through a set of exercises to develop a concept.
On the other hand, the inclusion of PDF files of primary
127
research papers (relevant to the ‘‘Perspectives in the
Literature’’) is to be commended. The inclusion of even
more electronic versions of key and classic papers would
make this CD-ROM an invaluable resource to students
and instructors, provided copyright issues can be
handled economically.
The web-based resource for Molecular Cell Biology by
Michael Klymkowsky is an excellent resource for
students and instructors. The resource contains sections
called ‘‘Working with the Literature,’’ ‘‘Web Links,’’
‘‘Immunology,’’ ‘‘Macromolecular Tutorial,’’ ‘‘Animations,’’
‘‘Videos,’’ ‘‘Classic Experiments,’’ and ‘‘Online MCAT
Prep Exam.’’ Some of these links are redundant with the
accompanying CD-ROM, but the site does go beyond
what is available in the CD-ROM. With computer
hook-ups in the classroom, an instructor can take full
advantage of the numerous animations and videos to
highlight a lecture.
Many cell biology instructors teach cell biology as an
experimental science, meaning that there is a central
focus on the presentation and interpretation of experi-
ments. None of these five textbooks have this as a
central focus, despite the claim made by Lodish et al. in
the Preface of Molecular Cell Biology. However, both
Molecular Biology of the Cell and Molecular Cell
Biology have problem books available as separate
ancillary texts. Both problem books, The Problems
Book by Wilson & Hunt and Working with Molecular
Cell Biology: A Student Companion by Brian Storrie,
Muriel Lederman, Eric A. Wong, Richard A. Walker,
and Glenda Gillaspy, respectively, are excellent. Ironi-
cally, the Molecular Cell Biology student companion is
better suited to undergraduates than the problem book
that accompanies Molecular Biology of the Cell. Both of
these books contain a marvelous collection of experi-
ments, wherein the students are asked to interpret data
and/or suggest new experiments. While the Molecular
Cell Biology student companion does have some review
material, both of these problem books are stand-alone
volumes that should be in the hands of anyone teaching
cell and molecular biology in which experimental
biology is a central focus. I do wish that all questions
in the Molecular Cell Biology student companion were
not accompanied by the answers. In general, students
are too quick to go to them, and hence, lose the
opportunity to exercise their analytical skills.
Molecular Cell Biology contains a small number of
factual errors, typographical errors, and other confu-
sions that one might expect in a volume this size,
spanning a vast area of biology. I found the discussion
of thermodynamics a bit weak, and was surprised
that the concept of the steady-state is given only
brief consideration. Also, why are more and more
texts omitting the presentation of double-selection in
discussing DNA cloning? The double-selection strategy
is essential to successful plasmid cloning. One of the
128 Book reviews / Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 29 (2001) 126–133
most daunting aspects of learning modern cell and
molecular biology is the dizzying number of acronyms
used in the naming of genes and proteins. A glossary of
these acronyms would make the life of many students
and instructors much easier as they read this text. For
many students, keeping these acronyms straight must
appear to be part of some cruel initiation rite into the
field.
I have two far more important criticisms. One of the
most difficult processes for students to understand is
meiosis, especially with respect to DNA content and the
segregation of chromosomes and sister chromatids.
Molecular Cell Biology makes meiosis more confusing
than it needs to be. The authors have settled in on the
notion that n refers to DNA content. Hence, a gamete is
1n, which is fine, but by the reckoning of the authors a
somatic cell in S-phase and a gamete just before meiosis I
are both 4n. Clearly, they do not intend this, but this is an
obvious interpretation that will be reached by a student (I
know this because I asked a couple of students to interpret
this section). Geneticists correlate n with the number of
kinetochores and this alleviates the problem that Lodish
et al. run into with their overly-simplistic definition of n,
both in their presentation of meiosis (Chapter 8) and
discussion of the cell cycle (Chapter 13). Why not go back
to the more traditional terminology where c refers to
DNA copy number and n refers to kinetochore number?
Also in Chapter 8, the authors use ‘‘random segregation’’
for ‘‘independent assortment.’’ Actually, what I fear the
authors have done is to merge the two Mendelian
principles, the segregation of alleles and independent
assortment. This substitution or merger for accepted
terminology leads to confusion, to say the least.
On the other hand, the authors present a novel and
provocative view of osmosis that is not found in any
prominent cell biology or biochemistry text. The authors
state that pure lipid membranes are rather impermeable
to water (contrary to the conventional assertions of
many texts), such that water transport is facilitated by a
transporter called aquaporin. The gene for the protein
was cloned a few years ago, and the authors cite an
experiment in which frog oocytes are osmotically lysed
when injected with aquaporin mRNA. This was new to
me, so I scanned several prominent cell biology and
biochemistry texts for any mention of this phenomen-
ology, and found none. This observation and the fact
that pure lipid membranes are only slightly permeable to
water makes me think that authors of cell biology and
biochemistry texts need to revisit their discussions of
osmosis.
Finally, a note on the emergence of quantitative
biology in cell and molecular biology. The authors point
to the importance of quantitative methods in coming to
a richer understanding of cellular processes, but they do
not consistently develop this theme. They do a nice job
at the beginning, especially with ligand-receptor equili-
bria, transport kinetics, and enzyme kinetics, but lose
track of this theme as they get into the meat of the text.
Bruce Alberts and Dennis Bray have commented
forcefully that this is the new direction for cell and
molecular biology, and the recent literature in cell
biology clearly shows this. This inconsistent attention to
the emerging importance of quantitative biology is
Molecular Cell Biology’s only genuine weakness, espe-
cially given the audience for which this book is best
suited. Yet, Lodish and colleagues do considerably more
here than the authors of the other widely used cell
biology texts.
A. Uzman
Department of Natural Sciences,
University of Houston-Downtown,
Houston, TX 77002 100 USA
E-mail address: uzmana@zeus.dt.uh.edu
PII: S 1 4 7 0 - 8 1 7 5 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 2 3 - 6
Physical biochemistry: principles and applications
D. Sheehan; Wiley, Chichester, 2000, 349 pp., price
£32.50, ISBN 0-471-98663-1
This is an amazingly comprehensive and up-to-date
student text, covering all the major aspects of physical
biochemistry. It is concisely written, the diagrams are
appropriate but simple and clear, and each section has a
few well-chosen examples (in ‘‘boxes’’) taken from the
recent literature. The short lists of references at the ends
of chapters are also admirably up to date, few being
earlier than 1996. In addition to the traditional methods,
the more recent aspects are dealt with, and it is
important that students understand how mass spectro-
scopy, NMR and FTIR, etc, are used in modern
biochemistry, and indeed should know that they will
do things than no other methods can do, complicated
and expensive though they are. In fact, the book could
be used as a reference in order to get a brief (but
accurate) view of a technique previously not encoun-
tered, or it could form the basis of a very sound course
in physical biochemistry. Although mathematical for-
mulae are given as appropriate, it seemed to me that the
way in which it was done would not be daunting to the
student. Furthermore, molecular biology is dealt with
also in appropriate places, in an unobtrusive way, so
that students would easily be able to understand the
techniques and their relevance.
Chapter 1 is a brief Introduction dealing with the
factors that affect biomolecules, buffers and units, and
this is followed by an extensive chapter on chromato-
graphy. All of the major techniques are covered in an
admirably concise way, including affinity, metal ion and
HPLC, and there is a reasonably concise account of the