Modern cell biology is a dynamic discipline that combines the
interests of a variety of scientific fields including molecular
biology, biochemistry, biophysics, microbiology, physiology,
developmental biology, cytology, and genetics--fields that were
once almost completely independent of each other. Cell
biologists are at the core of scientific research, investigating
the basic structural and functional units of life: the cells
that compose all living organisms. Many different approaches are
used in the study of cellular processes including biochemical
and physical analysis of molecules and cells in culture,
mathematics and computer sciences, light and electron
microscopy, and molecular genetics. For over two centuries cell
biologists have made discoveries and created inventions that
have dramatically changed our lives. It was the cell biologists'
need to see details of cell and tissue structure that led to
improvements in microscopes and the ultimate discovery of the
bacteria that cause tuberculosis and syph