Essential Cell Biology

The gold standard textbook, thoroughly updated―now with online homework

This text features lively, clear writing and exceptional illustrations, making it the ideal textbook for a first course in both cell and molecular biology. Thoroughly revised and updated, the Fifth Edition maintains its focus on the latest cell biology research. For the first time ever, Essential Cell Biology will come with access to Smartwork5, Norton’s innovative online homework platform, creating a more complete learning experience.

Bruce Alberts received his PhD from Harvard University and is the Chancellor’s Leadership Chair in Biochemistry and Biophysics for Science and Education, University of California, San Francisco. He was the editor in chief of Science magazine from 2008 until 2013, and for 12 years he served as president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (1993–2005).

Rebecca Heald is an American professor of cell and developmental biology. She is currently a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. In May 2019, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Karen Hopkin (Science Writer) received her PhD in biochemistry from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and is a science writer in Somerville, Massachusetts. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers and her work has appeared in Science, Scientific American, and The Scientist.

Alexander Johnson received his PhD from Harvard University and is a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of California, San Francisco. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

David Morgan received his PhD from the University of California, San Francisco, and is a professor in the Department of Physiology as well as the vice dean for research for the School of Medicine. Dave is a fellow of the Royal Society of London.