Book excerpt: The World of the Cell, Fifth Edition continues the tradition of previous editions widely praised for covering some of the most difficult concepts - bioenergetics, metabolism, enzyme kinetics, thermodynamics, membrane transport, cell signaling, regulatory mechanisms, transcription and translation, signal transduction, and DNA replication and recombination - at the right level. In this new edition, the authors integrate coverage of modern molecular techniques and tools and recent advances without losing students in overwhelming detail that is typically covered in a separate molecular biology course. The World of the Cell's trademark features - Art that Teaches, Multi-level Problem Sets, Quick Check Concept Statements, Guide to Techniques and Methods, and Boxed Essays (Further Insights, Contemporary Techniques, Historical Perspectives, and Clinical Applications) - help students learn processes, not just facts.