Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
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Cell and Molecular Biology: What We Know & How We Found Out
Gerald Bergtrom · University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee · 2020
CMB5e is the latest edition of an interactive Open Educational Resource (OER) electronic textbook (iText), available under a Creative Commons CC-BY license. Like earlier editions, CMB5e opens with a short history of the discipline and a discussion of scientific method. The book remains focused on the understanding of evolution that informs all of the life sciences and continues to provide experimental support for what we know about cell and molecular biology. Having a sense of how science is practiced and how investigators think about experimental results is essential to understanding the relationship of cell structure and function, not to mention the natural world around us. CMB5e is available in three versions (plus a sample chapter): In each chapter of the Basic CMB5e iText, an introduction includes learning objectives and context-embedded links to short explanatory voice-over PowerPoint recordings (VOPs) and other web-links of interest. QR codes allow the reader just-in-time access to the VOPs on smart phones or any camera-enabled portable device. The Annotated CMB5e adds pre-written, interactive context-embedded Challenge boxes to the Basic version of the book. These contain open-ended questions that expand on text readings. Any or all of them can be the basis of informal class and online discussion or as graded assignments. The Instructor’s CMB5e iText adds a series of 25 Words or Less essay questions that the author used as short (i.e., easy to grade!) writing assignments to strengthen student’s critical thinking and writing skills. A CMB5e Sample Chapter. The Art and Illustration Resource for Cell and Molecular Biology contains high resolution JPGs of figures in all CMB5 digital and print versions. JPGs are all public domain or CC-BY licensed (a source list is included).
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Biology Laboratory Manual: Introduction to Molecular, Cellular, and Physiological Principles
Carly Manz; Chanda Skelton · Iowa State University Digital Press · 2025
This lab manual is designed for students enrolled in the second lab course in the introductory biology sequence at Iowa State University. It is a semester-long lab course, required by most life-science-related majors at ISU, and includes activities on the scientific method, molecular and cellular biology, energetics, genetics, plant anatomy and physiology, and animal anatomy and physiology.
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Virology Lab Exercises for Undergraduates
Eric Ryndock · The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT) · 2026
This laboratory manual presents a novel series of undergraduate-friendly experiments designed to provide students with a safe, accessible, and comprehensive introduction to virology. The manual is intended for students who already possess foundational knowledge in cell biology, genetics, and molecular biology, and it emphasizes hands-on learning through diverse experimental approaches. Unlike many existing virology laboratory manuals that depend on costly infrastructure such as mammalian cell culture facilities or focus narrowly on a single viral system, this manual was developed specifically for primary undergraduate teaching institutions. The experiments utilize readily available equipment while exposing students to representative viruses that infect bacteria, plants, and animals. Through these investigations, students gain practical experience with modern virological techniques and develop transferable, employable skills relevant to biotechnology, research, and related industries. Collectively, the laboratory exercises aim to strengthen conceptual understanding of viral biology, promote technical competency, and inspire student curiosity about viruses as dynamic and influential biological entities.
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Biotechnology Foundations
Jack O'Grady · OpenStax CNX · 2013
Given the broad definition of biotechnology applications and products, it is easy to see how there is enormous overlap within the fields of cellular biology, microbiology, chemistry, and biomedical engineering. It is the goal of this textbook to provide foundational knowledge to begin building your biotechnology toolkit and enter an exciting career of making a difference through biotechnology. This textbook first explores the fundamentals of laboratory science and biotechnology. Unit 1 begins with a dive into the foundation of biology and chemistry by asking what is life and what are the molecules of life? The end of the unit offers a primer into laboratory science; preparing solutions and operating basic lab equipment. Unit 2 brings readers through a vital tool of biomanufacturing, understanding the growth and control of microbes. Many biotechnology products are made by harnessing the work of microbes, and this unit explores this invisible and intriguing world of microorganisms. The final unit, molecular biotechnology, offers a more in-depth look at how biological molecules such as DNA and protein are manipulated into creating useful products.
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Cat burglars, yeast races, and other hypothesis-driven bioscience practicals
Rebecca Barnes · The University of Sheffield · 2024
This book is aimed at fellow academics teaching biosciences students (probably in the first or second year of an undergraduate degree). It contains materials from eight different sets of practicals that colleagues have developed here at the University of Sheffield, concerning different areas of molecular and cellular biology. The experiments all span a few lab sessions, and are a step away from “cookbook” style labs with defined instructions and a certain outcome; each one contains significant elements of experimental planning. The standard lab session in our School is three hours long, with students working in pairs. Each section contains the following: some background information and scientific context; student-facing documents; technical information, including materials needed and any extra protocols; and additional resources that might be helpful such as references.
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Cells: Molecules and Mechanisms
Eric Wong · Axolotl Academic Publishing Co · 2009
Yet another cell and molecular biology book? At the very least, you would think that if I was going to write a textbook, I should write one in an area that really needs one instead of a subject that already has multiple excellent and definitive books. So, why write this book, then? First, it's a course that I have enjoyed teaching for many years, so I am very familiar with what a student really needs to take away from this class within the time constraints of a semester. Second, because it is a course that many students take, there is a greater opportunity to make an impact on more students' pocketbooks than if I were to start off writing a book for a highly specialized upper- level course. And finally, it was fun to research and write, and can be revised easily for inclusion as part of our next textbook, High School Biology.
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Radiobiology Textbook
Sarah Baatout · Springer · 2023
This open access textbook focuses on the various aspects of radiobiology. The goal of radiobiological research is to better understand the effects of radiation exposure at the cellular and molecular levels in order to determine the impact on health. This book offers a unique perspective, by covering not only radiation biology but also radiation physics, radiation oncology, radiotherapy, radiochemistry, radiopharmacy, nuclear medicine, space radiation biology & physics, environmental and human radiation protection, nuclear emergency planning, molecular biology and bioinformatics, as well as the ethical, legal and social considerations related to radiobiology. This range of disciplines contributes to making radiobiology a broad and rather complex topic. This textbook is intended to provide a solid foundation to those interested in the basics and practice of radiobiological science. It is a learning resource, meeting the needs of students, scientists and medical staff with an interest in this rapidly evolving discipline, as well as a teaching tool, with accompanying teaching material to help educators.