High-Yield Cell and Molecular Biology

Rating:
Summary: Very High Yield!
Review: High yield cell and molecular biology is exactly what it says, and from the outset doesn't pretend to be anything else. "Lean efficient text" says the blurb, "Study guides with the barest essentials". These words certainly comforted me after reading the somewhat ominous title! The text is compact, with clear and helpful diagrams illustrating and clarifying the most difficult concepts in the book. The style is in fact very much the same as I might choose to write own revision notes, with chapters divided into sub-titles, and those into bullet points. Key words are emboldened, so it is possible to absorb a page by only scanning the bold type; useful if you are caught short when preparing for an exam and need the facts quickly! There is a smattering of clinical examples throughout, and descriptions of procedures such as PCR, which both help anchor your thoughts of the sometimes abstract nature of the subject. Being a molecular biology book it is biased toward genetics, and as this is a confusing area for many students (including me), this will help if your genetics lectures tend to sail several meters over your head. On the downside, the economic nature of the text and the no-frills nature of the diagrams mean that it is not a particularly colourful or engaging read in it's own right. This is also positive, meaning that it is easier to extract information quickly than would be possible from a more bulky text. It is clearly meant to be dipped into, rather than read cover-to-cover. Realistically though, who would read a textbook cover-to-cover? People who will benefit from this book will be pre-clinical medical students, those intercalating a BSc in clinical science or genetics, doctors requiring an up-to-date review, or other students of biomedical science. This should not be your only textbook on cellular biology and genetics, but will serve as the perfect revision tool when exams sidle up too close for comfort.