The original idea of a book such as MBoC belonged exclusively to James Watson. In the early 1970s, he wisely spotted a latent hurdle for his long-time vision of transforming the whole biology field into a molecular science. He recognized that the knowledge of cell biology at the time was almost entirely based on light and electron microscopy investigations, and for students this hardly integrated any new molecular biology. Therefore, Watson believed in the need for a new textbook that would combine these two fields. As Martin Raff recalls, for Watson producing MBoC would be a “very important way of modernising the way cell biology was taught and perhaps even how cell biology was done.”
From Beyond a pedagogical tool: 30 years of Molecular Biology of the Cell (PDF)
Now in it’s 7th edition, Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC), a classic university biology textbook, and it’s lighter companion book, Essential Cell Biology (in its 6th edition), continue to offer students a “new and invigorating outlook on what cells are and what they do.”
For more on the history and evolution of the books:
- Read a 2013 perspective in Nature magazine: Beyond a pedagogical tool: 30 years of Molecular Biology of the Cell (PDF).
- Watch Advancing Biology Education: A conversation with Bruce Alberts and Keith Roberts
The London House and the Beatles
Since 1985, the authors of the Molecular Biology of the Cell have gathered at this 19th century home in St. John’s Wood, London for writing meetings.
The home is near the zebra crossing at Abbey Road made famous by the Beatles, which inspired this back cover for the MBoC 3rd edition, and a string of Beatles’ album-inspired back covers for MBoC and Essential Cell Biology texts.
