Cell Cycle: Principles of Control

Cell Cycle: Principles of Control is a comprehensive text that fluidly integrates the vast volume of information that has been compiled on the cell cycle and serves as a foundation for understanding the complex mechanisms of cell reproduction. The book’s overview succinctly and efficiently introduces the reader to the basics of cell cycle division. The first part of the book presents the key players involved in the cell cycle, delving into the mechanism of the cell-cycle control mechanism. A significant emphasis is placed on mitosis, since this process has been well studied by cytologists over the past 100 years. The last three chapters focus on the regulation of the cell cycle, as it relates to dynamic signaling through normal cell cycle progression, DNA damage, and cancer. This last section represents the true integration of cell cycle events with clinically relevant issues in molecular medicine, which is the salient reason for writing the text. The concepts in each successive chapter build upon one another, although the weak transitions between topics are a minor shortcoming.

Students who already have been exposed to concepts in cell cycle control would benefit most from this text. As the overview moves very quickly through some of the key players involved, it is clearly designed for an upper level seminar course in molecular biology at the undergraduate or graduate school levels. The text is also a good reference for professionals working in the field. It provides relevant and updated references on the field’s progress, which conveniently appear at the bottom page of where they are listed. The definitions of words that may be unfamiliar to the reader also appear on the bottom of the page. There are also resources online, which provide up-to-date information and serve as a teaching tool.

Building upon the fundamentals in the field, Morgan succeeds in integrating molecular mechanisms involved in the cell cycle with current biological questions. This is especially true in the discussion of the role of the cell cycle in the two final topics covered in the text: DNA damage response and cancer.

Overall, Cell Cycle: Principles of Control is a good resource text. Its strengths lie in its ability to utilize multiple organisms to indicate that cell cycle regulation is at least partially conserved in these different species, to introduce the main analytical tools used in the field, and to relate this "basic science" topic to clinically relevant issues. As molecular medicine is increasingly becoming part of the medical school education, this resourceful text demonstrates a logical and natural progression from lab bench to bedside.