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Comment on Molecular Biology of the Cell, Fifth Edition: The Problems Book by N. Peritore

N. Peritore — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:22:49 +0000

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

excellent introduction, July 9, 2010

N. Peritore ('Brazil) -

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This review is from: Molecular and Cell Biology For Dummies (Kindle Edition)

This book is written by an excellent teacher, with clear explanations. An excellent supplement to a course on this difficult topic. Most texts in this area are highly technical, and this book can help orient the reader and resolve a lot of difficulties. I would love to take the course from the author, who shows enthusiasm and and a great capacity to communicate.

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Comment on Molecular Biology of the Cell, Fifth Edition: The Problems Book by phoeberoo

phoeberoo — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:01:20 +0000

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

For casual readers only, November 5, 2010

phoeberoo -

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This review is from: Molecular and Cell Biology For Dummies (Paperback)

I think this book would be great for someone with a non-science background who wanted to understand molecular and cell biology in a simple way. I however bought the book to serve as a quick-read adjunct to college level cell and molecular courses, and the book is totally inadequate for this purpose. The book is far too simplistic and surface oriented to be a study guide to undergraduate cell and molecular biology classes.

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Comment on The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology by James Holmes "Co-Author 'Windows Developer Po...

James Holmes "Co-Author 'Windows Developer Po... — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:41:13 +0000

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Another great Manga guide making learning fun, November 27, 2009

James Holmes "Co-Author 'Windows Developer Po... (South Central Ohio) -

This review is from: The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology (Paperback)

This book follows the same great approach as the other Manga Guides: Break a complex idea down in to small pieces, clearly explain it with practical examples, and use the fun Manga comic style to wrap the entire concept in a great story.

I never took molecular biology in high school or college, yet I was able to get through the Guide and come out at the end with a pretty fair understanding of it. Moreover, I actually enjoyed the learning journey!

My nine year-old daughter loves these books and always reads through them after I'm done. She's not coming away from the books with great knowledge of the concepts, but she's finding them interesting, fun, and is less intimidated with the subjects. I think that's a big win because these guides are laying some good ground work for her to come back to later.

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Comment on Molecular Biotechnology: Principles and Applications of Recombinant DNA by John C. Wang

John C. Wang — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:25:56 +0000

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Good introductory material for the technical, May 10, 2001

John C. Wang (Taipei, Taiwan) -

This review is from: Molecular Biotechnology: Principles & Applications of Recombinant DNA (American society for microbiology) (Paperback)

To those who are interested in the functional aspects of the DNA this is the right introductory stuff. It covers areas including basic molecular biology to commercial methods for manipulating the genes. Pretty useful for someone who's more interested in the technology than the biology!

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Comment on The Business of Bioscience: What goes into making a Biotechnology Product by Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:22:38 +0000

Content value far outweighs the price, January 19, 2011

AndrewG (Oklahoma City, OK United States) -

This review is from: The Business of Bioscience: What goes into making a Biotechnology Product (Hardcover)

As the Medical Doctor, Adjunct Professor at a Business School and Board member of a new Bioscience Business, I wanted to read through Dr Shimasaki's new book, "The Business of Bioscience"...and more than once. Why? Because, like a good novel, the more I read, the more insight I got.

No book I have read packs as much information as this book does, and aimed specifically at the entrepreneur who wants to build a Bioscience / Biotechnology business. Many other books contain information that is applicable to most all business, but this one specifically targets the unique entrepreneurial aspects in the bioscience industry.

The author shares much of his practical knowledge, including such things as how to better organize yourself by keeping a notebook, and using project planning software to track the 'next steps' to be taken when starting a company. Many textbooks are surveys of present knowledge, leaving the reader wondering how to 'connect the dots'.

This book is closer to a 'How to Do It' book, addressing 'what','how' and 'when' questions about starting a company in the Bioscience industry. I was also helped by the 11 page glossary of terms in getting up to speed on the vernacular of this industy.

I have unreservedly recommended this book to many of my professional colleagues and friends who work in the medical and science fields, and to those who are interested in becoming a part of a start-up company in the life science industry.

ACG, MD

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Comment on Molecular Biology of the Cell Reviews by Doc Dave "Doc Dave"

Doc Dave "Doc Dave" — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:18:14 +0000

77 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

another part of the problem with academic book publishing, February 11, 2008

Doc Dave "Doc Dave" (Georgia) -

This review is from: Molecular Biology of the Cell: Reference Edition (Hardcover)

The publishers have made the standard edition (ISBN-10: 0815341059) of MBOTC more "portable" by not printing the final 5 chapters of the book, but including them as electronic files on the DVD. While these chapters are included, in print, in this reference edition (0815341113), take a look at the price differential between the two. If, as publishers might like us to believe, portability is such a great feature for a textbook, then why should students be expected to pay a premium for this less than portable reference edition?

The chapters in question are:
21-Sexual Reproduction: Meiosis, Germ Cells, and Fertilization
22-Development of Multicellular Organisms
23-Specialized Tissues, Stem Cells, and Tissue Renewal
24-Pathogens, Infection, and Innate Immunity
25-The Adaptive Immune System

With the 4th edition there were 25 printed chapters and 1616 pages: $5.68/printed chapter, or ~8.8 cents/page based on my calculations using list price info. With the regular 5th edition, 20 printed chapters, 1268 pages: $7.10/printed chapter, or ~11.2 cents/page. And with the reference edtition, 25 printed chapters and 1728 pages: $8.36/printed chapter, or ~12.1 cents/page. So the page cost for this reference edition has increased by over 1/3 as compared to the last edition, and is about 8% higher than for the regular 5th edition. Admittedly, I am a major geek for actually doing these calculations.

I am giving the book 2 stars for content, because it really is a solid resource for learning molecular biology. However, with so many students carrying a heavy burden of debt upon graduation, it's a shame to see the continuing trend of exorbitant prices for the best texts, making them just another contributor to the problems with education today.

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Comment on Computational Molecular Biology: An Algorithmic Approach (Computational Molecular Biology) by Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:09:30 +0000

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Readable and practical, February 4, 2005

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) -

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This review is from: Computational Molecular Biology: An Algorithmic Approach (Computational Molecular Biology) (Hardcover)

Pevzner has written a very useful book on bioinformatics algorithms, and one that seems reasonably up to date. The table of contents follows a classic plan: restriction maps, assembly and sequencing, 2- and N- way string comparisons, and analysis of rearrangements. There's a good but brief section on mass spec analysis - unfortunately, that chapter is called "Proteomics" even though the term covers a lot more than MS. Other sections skim the surface of hidden Markov models and Gibbs sampling for finding patterns ("motifs") in DNA.

A few chapters have unusual strengths. The "Conway Equation" gives more insight in analysis of motif significance than other introductory books do. The section in sequence comparison pays a lot more attention to BLAST-like algorithms than other books do, also - modern material you'd normally see only in the journals. Also, the section on rearrangements gives some ideas about using rearrangement data for phylogenetic analysis. That really gives the material meaning. Rearrangements aren't just string operations, they're features of evolution, and they can be compared to each other. No matter what the discussion, Pevzner keeps maintains a readable and enjoyably informal tone.

The book does have some weaknesses, though. It's a bit advanced for an undergrad intro, but bottoms out before the Baum-Welch algorithm, for example. Discussion of microarrays for sequencing seems dated. Pevnzer describes their use in sequencing, a rarity now, but skips their use in functional gneomics, where they are used most often. Illustration style is erratic and many diagrams are oddly stretched (3.5, 5.7, 8.3, and others, some much worse). Formal analysis of the algorithms is weak, but Pevzner somewhat makes up for that with better statistical analysis than many authors give. Also, even though the book was reprinted in 2001, it still estimates 100K genes in the human genome.

This is a good second book, maybe the one to read after Pevzner's newer "Introduction". It covers most of the basics and gives fairly usable pseudocode. Most of all, it always keeps the biology in mind. That, by itself, makes this book stand out.

//wiredweird

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Comment on Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development by Phillip Calvin

Phillip Calvin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:07:16 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

The Best Way to Learn about Careers in Biopharma!, March 10, 2010

Phillip Calvin (San Francisco, CA) -

This review is from: Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development (Hardcover)

This book is so multifaceted. It describes very clearly how the various divisions and departments of biopharma fit together. You learn the requirements for each career. You learn about suggested personal traits, comparative salaries, job security, do's and don'ts, pros and cons of each type of position, and how to switch careers within biopharma. You read lists of personal attributes which would contraindicate a particular career choice. You read about a typical day-in-the-life of various positions....

I've read or perused six Biopharma career books, and this is the best one I've found by far! I can't imagine how it could be any more comprehensive, helpful, and easy-to-read!

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Comment on Starved for Science: How Biotechnology Is Being Kept Out of Africa by Brad Averill

Brad Averill — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:07:13 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

This isn't just about GMOs, December 15, 2010

Brad Averill (Eugene, Oregon United States) -

This review is from: Starved for Science: How Biotechnology Is Being Kept Out of Africa (Hardcover)

I read the same book as everyone else here and I read it from cover to cover. Do not be misled, Paarlberg deals with more than GMOs. The puzzle is why Africa has been starved (or, in many cases, more accurately stated, has starved itself) not just for GMO science but for all aspects of agricultural science for the last couple decades. GMOs are the most prominently controversial aspect of this, but not the only one. Paarlberg's analysis of the non-embrace of GMOs by advanced Western countries is an interesting one and seems the best explanation I have yet seen. Essentially, he states that advanced Western countries have rejected GMOs because they do not deliver a compelling benefit to these countries. After all, we are far from starving; if anything, agricultural OVERPRODUCTON is more of an issue in the developed West. Consequently, GMOs, no matter how much increased productivity they might bring to Western agriculture, are solving a problem that does not exist. On the other hand, Western countries have wholeheartedly embraced medicines manufactured by genetically modified organisms. We recognize the benefit delivered in the form of better and cheaper medicines so we don't even notice that GMOs are a critical component in the production chain of these same medicines. We accept it. The problem is that African agriculture is not facing the same problems that Western agriculture faces. There IS a need for increased productivity in African agriculture, and, perhaps, GMOs is one technology - not the only one - that would help. The truth is that Europe, to a great degree, and America, to a lesser degree, are pressuring Africa to follow their old traditional agriculture rather than incorporating technologies that would improve agricultural productivity. Isn't it a bit hypocritical for those of us who have too much to deny others who have too little the technology that might help even the balance? That is Paarlberg's argument and it is one worth considering. And, oh, by the way, Paarlberg does mention the corruption in African governments and their lack of support for agricultural science. These issues are not ignored, not at all. I am one of those who sits on the fence when it comes to GMOs. I know that Western agriculture does not NEED them. We have the luxury of indulging in the "precautionary principle"; but, perhaps Africa does not have the same luxury. The truth is Africa needs SOMETHING and it is not more of the same old traditional agriculture that has brought a continent to the brink of starvation. Do you have a better idea? One that is not based on pastoral nostalgia but on science and facts.

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Comment on Molecular Biology of the Cell, Fifth Edition: The Problems Book by J. Davidson

J. Davidson — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:06:35 +0000

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

Very clear explanation of a very complex subject, December 29, 2009

J. Davidson (Annandale, VA USA) -

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This review is from: Molecular and Cell Biology For Dummies (Paperback)

This book did just what I had hoped it would do. It took a very complex subject and explained it in as simple terms as possible. I've never had a formal course in biology, but I had watched all the lectures in an MIT Open Courseware course on the subject that had left me confused about a number of things. Of course, this book is not as comprehensive as a full course, but it did clarify a number of things for me. Many of the illustrations are much better than in the textbook that the MIT course was based on. Near the end of the book the author began giving specific study tips -- what things a student needs to be familiar with and what things they need to have down cold. In fact, the last chapter is entitled "Ten Ways to Improve Your Grade." I thought this a little strange, because the introduction does not mention this aspect of the book. It is done unobtrusively, so it shouldn't lessen a non-student's enjoyment of the book. I mention it because it might be a big plus to some prospective readers.

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