A Computer Scientist's Guide to Cell Biology
by William W. Cohen · first published 2007
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
A dense, concept-heavy introduction to cell biology written for computer scientists. It covers core ideas and pairs well with Goodsell's illustrated The Machinery of Life.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2008–2026Molecular Biology of the Cell
Bruce Alberts, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, David O Morgan
Recommended by 49 · mentioned by 7749 recommend · 77 mention49 recommend · 7749 recommend
2013–2026The machinery of life - 2. ed.
David S. Goodsell
Recommended by 35 · mentioned by 3835 recommend · 38 mention35 recommend · 3835 recommend
2008–2026The eighth day of creation
Horace Freeland Judson
Recommended by 10 · mentioned by 1010 recommend · 10 mention10 recommend · 1010 recommend
2007–2026The Selfish Gene
Richard Dawkins
Recommended by 220 · mentioned by 431220 recommend · 431 mention220 recommend · 431220 recommend
Those books recommended in the article look good but are expensive. The Machinery of Life, David Goodsell A Computer Scientist’s Guide to Cell Biology, William W. Cohen
on “I should have loved biology” ↗Two recs: - There is a (short) book called "A Computer Scientist's Guide to Cell Biology" by William Cohen which is a little pricey but very dense and helpful with a lot of concepts. - Combine that with David Goodsell's "The Machinery of Life" which has a lot of great illustrations and practical…
on “AlphaFold's database grows over 200x to cover nearly all known proteins” ↗…take-away: At the very least, each school library schould provide: • Douglas R. Hofstadter, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid • David Goodsell, The Machinery of Life • William W. Cohen, A Computer Scientist’s Guide to Cell Biology • Horace Freeland Judson, The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Biology • Lewis Thomas, The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher
on “I should have loved biology” ↗You might find this book useful and interesting: A Computer Scientist's Guide to Cell Biology http://books.google.com/books?id=nAjhrOyBhIoC
on “Ask HN: Computing/Biology Resources?” ↗Perhaps this is obvious, but if you liked this article, check out the works referenced in it! The Eighth Day of Creation, The Machinery of Life, A Computer Scientist’s Guide to Cell Biology, and GEB are all outsanding.
on “I should have loved biology (2020)” ↗My impression from reading The Computer Scientist’s Guide to Cell Biology is that the reason for woefully inadequate descriptions of cellular systems, rather than any fundamental deficiency on the part of biologists, is that the systems are so dang tiny and crowded, with every…
on “Can a Biologist Fix a Radio?” ↗