A new entry-level survey of cell biology that makes teaching and learning easier than ever before Saves work for teachers -- motivates students Now a new introductory text explains cell biology at a level that is easy to grasp for students with a minimal knowledge of biology. The detailed, easy-to-follow text provides students with important background information and the basics necessary to understand cell biology. Teachers can spend less time explaining fundamentals and can focus on more sophisticated concepts. In addition, a profusion of detailed step-by-step full-color diagrams, electron micrographs and photographs reveal and clarify important principles and processes. Written by the authors of a renowned classic This new volume is the work of the same exceptional team who wrote the groundbreaking and universally acclaimed text Molecular Biology of the Cell, now in its Third Edition. The brand-new Essential Cell Biology was written in response to many professors who expressed a need for an introductory textbook for undergraduates that was not as difficult as texts for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. In Essential Cell Biology, early chapters review basic concepts in chemistry and biochemistry to provide the necessary understanding of the essential processes and mechanisms covered later in the text. The full-color schematics have been meticulously constructed specifically for students taking a basic course. -- Problems and answers complement the text and stimulate the student's curiosity. -- Quick questions within each chapter enable students to instantly review what they have just read. -- End-of-chapter self-tests of more challenging questions letstudents gauge their grasp of the material and whet their appetite for more information. -- Easy-to-understand panels illuminate the principles of microscopy, the composition of biological macromolecules, the basis of hydrophobicity, the glycolytic pathway, principles of genetics, and many more topics. ...