1st Edition
by Ron Milo (Author), Rob Phillips (Author)
Very little in our human experience is truly comparable to the immensely crowded and bustling interior of a cell. Biological numeracy provides a new kind of understanding of the cellular world. This book brings together up-to-date quantitative data from the vast biological literature and uses the powerful tool of "back of the envelope" estimates to reveal fresh perspectives and insights from numbers commonly encountered in cell biology. Readers gain a feeling for the sizes, concentrations, energies, and rates that characterize the lives of cells— thereby shedding new light on the microscopic realm.
How much energy is released in ATP hydrolysis? How many mRNAs are in a cell? How genetically similar are two random people? What is faster, transcription or translation?
Cell Biology by the Numbers explores these questions―and dozens of others―providing a richly illustrated and handy reference for students and researchers in molecular and cell biology, chemistry, and biophysics.
The book features question-driven vignettes and "back of the envelope" calculations that investigate some of the key numbers in cell biology. Readers will learn about the sizes, concentrations, rates, energies, and other numbers that describe and drive the living world.
