Basic Biochemical Laboratory Procedures and Computing

The quantitative and informational characteristics of today’s biomedical sciences have evolved so rapidly that students and scientists will increasingly use computers for calculation, sequence analyses, model-building, and testing hypotheses. The computer age has required biomedical workers to learn the steps involved in solving biomolecular calculations and to understand the theoretical basis of experimental procedures. This text does more than provide a catalog of biochemical calculations; in addition to showing how to perform certain calculations, it emphasizes mastery of basic theoretical and laboratory biomedical principles through the choice of topics and the inclusion of many review questions and problems. It has four sections, each with an interdisciplinary theme depicting the types of procedures used by practicing biomedical scientists. Some topics discussed may be found in textbooks of biology, general chemistry, mathematics, biochemistry, immunology, physical chemistry, statistics, or computer science. Whenever possible, recent applications of the procedures and computations in clinical, academic, industrial, and basic research laboratories are cited. This text also provides theoretical background and spreadsheet solutions in selected areas of the biomedical sciences and reflects the thinking, methods, instruments, and experimental strategies of today’s practicing biomedical scientists. Ideal for upper level undergraduates and graduate students taking courses on laboratory methods and techniques in departments of biological sciences, biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular biology, and it may also serve as a guide for graduate students and laboratory assistants in a broad range of biomedical research activities.