--- title: Cell & Molecular Biology description: This discipline focuses on the structural and functional units of life at the cellular and molecular levels. Learners will understand cell signaling, organelle function, macromolecular interactions, and the processes governing cell division, growth, and programmed cell death. category: sciences subcategory: biology difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/cell-and-molecular-biology --- # Cell & Molecular Biology This discipline focuses on the structural and functional units of life at the cellular and molecular levels. Learners will understand cell signaling, organelle function, macromolecular interactions, and the processes governing cell division, growth, and programmed cell death. ## Available Resources 3 Books • 3 Courses • 3 Websites ## Courses ### 1. 7.06x Cell Biology (MIT RES.7-007) **Author:** Rebecca Lamason, Iain Cheeseman, Sebastian Lourido et al. Cell biology of higher organisms: membranes and organelles, protein transport, receptors and signaling, the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix, cell division and the cell cycle, and oncogenic transformation. Problem sets with solutions tie each process to the experiments that uncovered it. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/res-7-007-7-06x-cell-biology/ **Tags:** cell-biology, cell-signaling, cytoskeleton, cell-cycle, membrane-transport ### 2. Introduction to Biology - The Secret of Life (MITx 7.00x) **Author:** Eric Lander, Michelle Mischke, Graham Walker et al. Biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, recombinant DNA, genomics and rational medicine, taught in Eric Lander's video lectures with test-yourself questions and interactive problem sets. Free to audit; learners come away able to reason about how genes and proteins explain living systems and disease. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.edx.org/learn/biology/massachusetts-institute-of-technology-introduction-to-biology-the-secret-of-life **Tags:** molecular-biology, genetics, biochemistry, genomics, recombinant-dna ### 3. iBiology Microscopy Series **Author:** Ron Vale, Nico Stuurman, Kurt Thorn This is the standard free microscopy course for life scientists. Free video course directed by Ron Vale, Nico Stuurman and Kurt Thorn. It covers optics and image formation, contrast methods, fluorescence and GFP, cameras, deconvolution, super-resolution and optical traps, through lectures, labs filmed at the microscope and an assessment for each lecture. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.ibiology.org/online-biology-courses/microscopy-series/ **Tags:** light-microscopy, fluorescence-microscopy, super-resolution, optics, image-formation ## Websites ### 1. PDB-101 The RCSB Protein Data Bank's education portal, built around Molecule of the Month articles, 3D structure viewers, and classroom activities. Users come away able to read protein and nucleic acid structures and connect molecular shape to biological function. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://pdb101.rcsb.org/ **Tags:** protein-structure, structural-biology, molecular-visualization, biochemistry ### 2. cell.com Cell.com is the official site for Cell Press, hosting the flagship Cell journal and other Cell Press publications. It offers access to original research articles, reviews, editorials, and news in cell and molecular biology, with abstracts and full text available to subscribers. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://cell.com **Tags:** websites, science-research, biology ### 3. khanacademy.org/science/biology Khan Academy Biology offers free, expert-led video lessons, practice questions, and quizzes to support introductory biology learning. It covers core topics from cell biology and genetics to evolution, ecology, and physiology. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://khanacademy.org/science/biology **Tags:** websites, science-research, biology ## Podcasts ### 1. Molecular Biology **Author:** ICGEB A broad variety of topical and detailed talks on specific aspects of molecular and cellular biology, including cellular morphology and function, genome organization, genetic expression, morphogenesis, proteomics and somatic cell genetics. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.icgeb.org **Tags:** molecular-biology, cell-biology, genome-organization, proteomics, lectures ## Books ### 1. Cell Biology by the Numbers **Author:** Ron Milo, Rob Phillips Free online book by Ron Milo and Rob Phillips, written as short vignettes that each answer a quantitative question about cells. It covers sizes, copy numbers, concentrations, energies, forces, rates and error frequencies, using measured values and back-of-the-envelope estimates. It is the easiest way in for readers who have not yet built physical intuition for cells. The full text is free online. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://book.bionumbers.org/ **Tags:** quantitative-biology, cell-biology, order-of-magnitude-estimation, bionumbers, biophysics ### 2. Physical Biology of the Cell (2nd Edition) **Author:** Rob Phillips, Jane Kondev, Julie Theriot, Hernan G. Garcia This is the reference text of the 'physical biology' school. It goes deeper than Nelson on gene regulation, networks and cell-scale modeling, and it serves biology readers well, which is why it is also cross-listed to cell and molecular biology. Comprehensive textbook that builds simple physical models of cells. It covers the statistical mechanics of binding, two-state systems, random walks, DNA and polymer mechanics, membranes, molecular motors, gene regulation and biological networks, with order-of-magnitude estimates and computational problems. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0815344503?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** physical-biology, statistical-mechanics, molecular-motors, gene-regulation, biological-networks ### 3. Essential Cell Biology **Author:** Bruce Alberts, Dennis Bray, Karen Hopkin, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, Peter Walter The shorter companion to Molecular Biology of the Cell, covering cell chemistry, DNA and protein synthesis, membranes, energy conversion, and division. It gives readers without a biology background a working foundation before tackling the full research-level textbook. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0815334818?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, biology --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/cell-and-molecular-biology