Molecular Biology of the Cell is a cellular and molecular biology textbook published by Garland Science and currently authored by Bruce Alberts, Alexander D. Johnson, Julian Lewis (deceased), David Morgan, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts and Peter Walter. The book was first published in 1983 and is now in its sixth edition. The molecular biologist James Watson contributed to the first three editions.
Molecular Biology of the Cell is widely used in introductory courses at the university level, being considered as a reference in many libraries and laboratories around the world. It describes the current understanding of cell biology and includes basic biochemistry, experimental methods for investigating cells, the properties common to most eukaryotic cells, the expression and transmission of genetic information, the internal organization of cells, and the behaviour of cells in multicellular organisms. Molecular Biology of the Cell has been described as “the most influential cell biology textbook of its time”.The sixth edition is dedicated to the memory of co-author Julian Lewis who died in early 2014.