The Cell: A Very Short Introduction

The Cell: A Very Short Introduction by Terence Allen

All living things on Earth are composed of cells. A cell is the simplest unit of a self-contained living organism, and the vast majority of life on Earth consists of single-celled microbes, mostly bacteria. These consist of a simple 'prokaryotic' cell, with no nucleus. The bodies of more complex plants and animals consist of billions of 'eukaryotic' cells, of varying kinds, adapted to fill different roles - red blood cells, muscle cells, branched neurons. Each cell is an astonishingly complex chemical factory, the activities of which we have only begun to unravel in the past fifty years or so through modern techniques of microscopy, biochemistry, and molecular biology. In this Very Short Introduction, Terence Allen and Graham Cowling describe the nature of cells - their basic structure, their varying forms, their division, their differentiation from initially highly flexible stem cells, their signalling, and programmed death. Cells are the basic constituent of life, and understanding cells and how they work is central to all biology and medicine. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Professor Terence Allen's career spanned 40 years research in Cell Structure and Function at the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, Christie Hospital Manchester, and the University of Manchester. His special research interests included the mechanisms controlling cell shape, cell replacement in blood skin and gut tissues, and the structure of chromosomes. He has published in excess of 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is a member of the British Society for Cell Biology, the Biochemical Society and the Royal Microscopial Society. Dr Graham Cowling has been director and teacher on a Masters programme in oncology and postgraduate tutor for research students in cancer studies at the Medical School, Univeristy of Manchester, for the past ten years. He has written a number of research papers and contributed reviews and chapters to books.

SKU	GOR004898136
ISBN 13	9780199578757
ISBN 10	0199578753
Title	The Cell: A Very Short Introduction
Author	Terence Allen
Series	Very Short Introductions
Condition	Very good
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Year published	2011-09-29
Number of pages	160
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us