Visions of Cell Biology: Reflections Inspired by Cowdry's "General Cytology"

With the development of cytology in the 1830s and the invention of the electron microscope in the 1920s, cell biology emerged as a scientific discipline to study cells. This book explores the history and current status of cell biology, highlighting its contributions to biological understanding and its relationship with molecular biology.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 400 pages
\n Publication date: 18 January 2018
\n Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
\n

While modern cell biology is frequently attributed to its emergence after World War II, in conjunction with specific technological and methodological advancements, such as the electron microscope and cell fractionation, its roots trace back to the 1830s and the development of cytology, the scientific study of cells. By 1924, with the publication of Edmund Vincent Cowdry's General Cytology, the discipline had expanded beyond mere microscopic observation to encompass the chemical, physical, and genetic analysis of cells. Inspired by Cowdry's seminal work, this book brings together contributions from cell biologists, historians, and philosophers of science to explore the history and current state of cell biology. Despite remarkable progress in elucidating the structure and function of cells, cell biology often tends to be overshadowed by molecular biology, a field that emerged contemporaneously. This book seeks to rectify that imbalance by examining the evolution of cell biology and its pivotal role in advancing our understanding of biology. Contributors demonstrate that contemporary concepts of cell organization, mechanistic explanations, epigenetics, molecular thinking, and even computational approaches can be situated within the continuum of cell studies, spanning from cytology to cell biology and beyond. The first book in the series Convening Science: Discovery at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Visions of Cell Biology, sheds new light on a century of cellular discovery.

\n Weight: 512g\n
Dimension: 153 x 228 x 20 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780226520513\n \n