Practical Skills in Biomolecular Science, 6th edition

Published by Pearson (December 15, 2021) © 2022
  • Rob Reed
  • David A Holmes
  • Jonathan Weyers
  • Allan Jones

Title overview

An indispensable practical resource for all undergraduate cellular and molecular bioscience students, this updated sixth edition of Practical Skills in Biomolecular Sciences is a complete and easy-to-read guide. Covering fundamental background for laboratory work, its tips, key points, and detailed explanations help students develop key transferable and employability skills.

This edition includes a Companion Website.

Hallmark Features

  • Provides a one-stop guide to the key practical skills needed in biomolecular science, including comprehensive coverage of: study and examination skills; fundamental laboratory methods; investigative and analytical techniques; analysis and presentation of data.
  • Contains numerous margin tips and hints, ‘how to' boxes, checklists and examples.
  • Key points highlight critical features of methodology.
  • Gives theoretical background to methods to enhance understanding.
  • Includes numerous end-of-chapter study exercises to support student learning, with answers available on a useful companion website. It also comes with PowerPoint slides of key illustrations to enhance lecturer presentations.

New to this Edition

  • Detailed treatment of self-management and well-being, teamwork, data analysis, effective learning and improving performance in assignments and exams.
  • Increased coverage of laboratory skills, including: measuring temperature, operating pH probes and microelectrodes, measuring dissolved oxygen, and molecular genetics techniques, including DNA analysis and assay.
  • Updated health, safety and legal aspects, including dealing with incidents in the laboratory.
  • Three new microbiological chapters covering working with bacteria, eukaryotic microbes and viruses.
  • New sections covering online learning, designing and conducting surveys, work placements, drawings and diagrams, using microelectrodes, Drosophila as a tool in Mendelian genetics, epidemiology, site-directed mutagenesis and gene editing techniques, including the CRISPR-cas9 system.
  • Over 250 new and updated illustrations, tables, and tips, including 25 new ‘how to' boxes.

Table of contents

Preface

List of abbreviations

Study strategies

  1. Developing your skills
  2. Self-management
  3. Learning effectively
  4. Making the most of learning resources
  5. Locating and citing published information
  6. Evaluating information
  7. Working with others
  8. Mapping your personal development

Assessment skills

  1. Succeeding in assessments
  2. Scientific writing
  3. Writing essays
  4. Reporting practical and project work
  5. Tackling literature surveys and reviews
  6. Presenting written assignments
  7. Preparing a poster
  8. Giving a spoken presentation
  9. Revision strategies
  10. Improving your performance in exams

Fundamental laboratory techniques

  1. Preparing for practical work
  2. Working safely in the lab
  3. Basic laboratory skills
  4. Measuring and dispensing liquids
  5. Preparing solutions – principles and practice
  6. Measuring and maintaining pH
  7. Understanding microscopy
  8. Setting up and using a light microscope

The investigative approach

  1. Making measurements
  2. Understanding SI units and their use
  3. Designing experiments
  4. Understanding bioethics
  5. Recording data and images
  6. Tackling project work and placements

Working with microbes, cells and tissues

  1. Learning sterile technique
  2. Culturing cells and measuring growth
  3. Collecting and isolating microbes
  4. Identifying microbes
  5. Naming microbes and other organisms
  6. Working with bacteria
  7. Working with eukaryotic microbes: fungi and protists
  8. Working with viruses
  9. Working with animal and plant cells and tissues
  10. Homogenising and fractionating cells and tissues

Analytical techniques

  1. Understanding calibration and quantitative analysis
  2. Centrifugation techniques
  3. Measuring light
  4. Using advanced spectroscopy and spectrometry
  5. Carrying out basic spectroscopy and spectrometry
  6. Separating compounds using chromatography
  7. Detecting and analysing compounds after chromatography
  8. Methods of electrophoresis
  9. Advanced electrophoretic techniques
  10. Electroanalytical techniques
  11. Using immunological methods
  12. Using radioisotopes
  13. Analysing stable isotopes

Assaying biomolecules and studying metabolism

  1. Analysing biomolecules
  2. Assaying amino acids, peptides and proteins
  3. Assaying lipids
  4. Assaying carbohydrates
  5. Assaying nucleic acids and nucleotides
  6. Protein purification
  7. Studying enzymes
  8. Measuring membrane transport
  9. Quantifying photosynthesis and respiration

 Genetics and molecular biology

  1. Studying Mendelian and population genetics
  2. Studying bacterial and phage genetics
  3. Understanding molecular genetics – fundamental principles
  4. Using the polymerase chain reaction in molecular genetics
  5. Genetic manipulation techniques
  6. Applying bioinformatics

Analysing and presenting data

  1. Manipulating and transforming raw data
  2. Analysing data with spreadsheets
  3. Summarising data in tables
  4. Illustrating data in graphs
  5. Solving numerical problems
  6. Using descriptive statistics
  7. Selecting and interpreting statistical tests

Appendix 1

Index

Author bios

Rob Reed, Professor Emeritus (Education and Science) at Central Queensland University, Australia.

David Holmes, Emeritus Professor of Medical Sciences, St George's International School of Medicine, Grenada. 

Jonathan Weyers, Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Dundee, UK.

Allan Jones, Chancellor's Award Fellow in Ecology, Environmental Science and Zoology at the University of Dundee, UK.

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