From Our Bookshelves: Back-to-School Biotech Cornerstones

School is back in session! While textbook prices remain a touchy subject on campus, these two titles are worth their weight (and they are heavy!) as a biotechnology resource. Check out these must-have textbooks for biotech students.

Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

As an introductory book to biochemistry, Principles of Biochemistry can be found on the desk of most beginning students. With over 1100 pages covering topics from photosynthesis to the basics of DNA cloning, authors David L. Nelson and Michael M. Cox give the reader  clear illustrations, and approachable language in this masterpiece. Though the density does reflect the fact that it is a textbook, the authors are able to compress the intricate topics of biochem into accessible paragraphs so the reader can process the main points. Overall Nelson and Cox combine the best info from the laboratory and best instruction of the classroom to effectively communicate biochemistry basics.

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Molecular Biology of the Cell

It has been called “the bible of cell biology” since its first edition nearly a quarter century ago. The most recent edition (5th) has kept up with the rapidly growing knowledge base. New material is presented on epigenetics, stem cells, RNAi, comparative genomics, the latest cancer therapies. Students looking to understand the inner workings of the cellular machine will be aided by countless illustrations and a large number of photographs and tables. Educators looking to enrich their lectures will be able to do so with the help of the included DVD-ROM. Author Bruce Alberts and his associates have truly developed a foundational textbook.

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