Skip to main content

Fundamentals of Molecular Structural Biology

  • 2nd Edition - April 12, 2026
  • Latest edition
  • Author: Subrata Pal
  • Language: English

Fundamentals of Molecular Structural Biology, Second Edition reviews the mathematical and physical foundations of molecular structural biology, covering the latest advanc… Read more

World Book Day celebration

Where learning shapes lives

Up to 25% off trusted resources that support research, study, and discovery.

Description

Fundamentals of Molecular Structural Biology, Second Edition reviews the mathematical and physical foundations of molecular structural biology, covering the latest advancements. The book begins with historical perspectives before exploring mathematical concepts, physical aspects of chemistry, the chemical basis of biology, structural analysis, visualization, protein folding, transcription, RNA processing, cell signaling, and computational molecular biology. Additionally, this new edition delves into AI fundamentals and applications, including AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold. This fully updated edition provides a detailed overview of the fundamental concepts across molecular structural biology and acts as an ideal guide for researchers and advanced students.

Given the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of this subject, this book provides early career researchers and those shifting into an adjacent field a "fundamentals" resource to get them up-to-speed on the foundations of a particular field.

Key features

  • Offers foundational knowledge in the mathematical and physical concepts required for molecular structural biology
  • Covers macromolecular structures, including their description, determination, and representation
  • Explains the basic genetic mechanism based on macromolecular structure and dynamics
  • Discusses critical issues surrounding macromolecular structures, such as macromolecular assemblies, cell signaling, systems biology, molecular dynamics, and structure-based drug discovery
  • Includes a special emphasis on AI fundamentals and their application in molecular structural biology

Readership

Early career researchers, those shifting into the field via interdisciplinary work, and advanced students in molecular biology; researchers in computational structural biology and drug discovery

Table of contents

1. Introduction―a historical perspective

2. Mathematical preliminaries

3. Physical basis of chemistry

4. Chemical basis of biology

5. Biomacromolecules

6. Structure analysis and visualization

7. Protein Folding

8. DNA synthesis: Replication

9. Transcription

10. RNA processing

11. Translation

12. DNA damage and repair

13. Recombination

14. Membrane structure and function

15. Fundamentals of structural genomics

16. Cell signaling and systems biology

17. Macromolecular assemblies

18. Computational molecular biology

19. Artificial intelligence (AI) applications

Product details

  • Edition: 2
  • Latest edition
  • Published: April 15, 2026
  • Language: English

About the author

SP

Subrata Pal

Subrata Pal obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, both in physics, from Calcutta University. Subsequently, he pursued his predoctoral research in molecular biology and received a PhD degree from the same university in 1982. He carried out his postdoctoral research in DNA replication and gene expression at two of the premiere institutions in the USA: the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland and Harvard Medical School, Boston Massachusetts. At Harvard, he received a Claudia Adams Barr special investigator award for basic contribution to cancer research. Professor Pal has a long teaching experience at the undergraduate and graduate levels – the areas of his teaching include physics, molecular biology and genomics.
Affiliations and expertise
Professor (retired), Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India