Quickstart Molecular Biology: An Introduction for Mathematicians, Physicists, and Computational Scientists

As biology becomes more quantitative and computational, increasing numbers of physical scientists, mathematicians, and engineers are moving into areas such as genomics, developmental biology, neuroscience, and systems biology. The science of molecular biology underpins all these subjects, and an understanding of its fundamental concepts and the key experimental techniques used is essential.

This book provides an introductory course in molecular biology that is designed specifically for mathematicians, physicists, and computational scientists. It starts by introducing the basic features of DNA, genes, proteins, and cells, before moving on to organismal development, genetic traits, and human evolution. In each case, basic concepts are described in the context of recent technological advances, such as next-generation sequencing, mass spectrometry, and high-throughput screens. The book thus enables readers to move rapidly from the basics of molecular biology to an understanding of cutting-edge techniques used in cell and developmental biology, genomics, and synthetic biology.

Philip Benfey is the Paul Kramer Professor of Biology and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. His research focuses on plant developmental genetics and genomics. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences. Dr Benfey received his PhD from Harvard University and a DEUG (Diplome d'Etudes Universitaire Generale) from the University of Paris.