Preface Free

The field of molecular biology and biotechnology continues to be of major importance and underpins nearly all areas of the biosciences; indeed, the advances in many fields have continued at a spectacular pace with an ever-accelerating rate of progress. Since the 6th edition of this book was published, significant developments in many areas of bioscience have taken place. Fields such as gene editing and genome analysis, vaccine development, nanobiotechnology and antibody engineering have all seen major refinements, giving rise to the development of new methodologies and a focus on new applications. This has provided further understanding and characterisation of biochemical pathways and cellular interactions and has accelerated the molecular understanding of plant, virus and human processes in health and disease.

The 7th edition of this book has been updated and augmented with new chapters to provide an overview of these important areas. The early chapters deal with core technologies in the biosciences, including basic molecular biology, genes and genomes, expression of recombinant proteins, proteomics and transgenesis. A series of chapters then deal with more specialised topics, reflecting current challenges in biotechnology, including molecular analysis of yeast, antibody engineering and immunotherapeutics and human and animal cell culture.

Genome editing and genome sequencing are new chapters that address the unparalleled advances seen in these areas in recent years. In addition, further new chapters on bioinformatics, nanobiotechnology, molecular modelling and intellectual property have been introduced and chapters on agricultural biotechnology, biosensors and vaccines have been updated for this new edition. It is the intention that the coverage of many of the key areas in molecular biotechnology will serve as a solid foundation for those embarking on, or engaged in, studies of these exciting fields. As such, this 7th edition of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology will be of particular interest to undergraduate students in the biosciences, biotechnology and chemistry, and also to postgraduates and other scientists who require a sound introduction to this rapidly advancing and expanding area.

Ralph Rapley