Alberts, B., D. Bray, J. Lewis, M. Raff, K. Roberts, and J. Watson: Molecular Biology of the Cell, ed. 3, Garland Press, New York, 1994. A comprehensive treatment, this is probably the best text ever written on modern cell biology.

DeDuve, C: "The Birth of Complex Cells," Scientific American, April 1996, pages 50–57. All animals, plants, and fungi owe their existence to the remnants of tiny primitive bacteria.

Edelson, E.: "Conduits for Cell/Cell Communication," Mosaic, vol. 21, 1990, pages 48-56. A discussion of the proteinaceous channels between cells that facilitate intercellular communication and transport.

Glover, D., C. Gonzalez, and J. Raff: "The Centrosome," Scientific American, June 1993, pages 62–68. Recent information concerning the structure and function of centrioles.

Hall, J., Z. Ramanis, and D. Luck: "Basal Body/Centriolar DNA," Cell, vol. 59, 1989, pages 121–32. The exciting discovery that centrioles contain DNA, a key prediction of the Margulis endosymbiont theory.

Heidemann, S.: "A New Twist on Integrins and the Cytoskeleton," Science, vol. 260, May 1993, pages 1080–81. How internal and external cellular proteins cooperate to allow cellular movement.

Lambert, A.: "Microtubule-Organizing Centers in Higher Plants: Evolving Concepts," Botanica Acuta, vol. 108, 1995, pages 535-37. An enlightening investigation of the nature of MTOCs in plants.

Lasic, D.: "Liposomes," American Scientist, vol. 80, 1992, pages 20–31. A very readable account of how liposomes are manufactured and how they can be used as medical delivery systems.

McDermott, J.: "A Biologist Whose Heresy Redraws Earth’s Tree of Life," Smithsonian, August 1989, pages 71–81. Engaging account of the scientific approach taken by Lynn Margulis, the leading contemporary advocate of the endosymbiont theory of the origin of some organelles.

Rensberger, B.: Life Itself: Exploring the Realm of the Living Cell, Oxford University Press, New York, 1997. A superb presentation of the many mechanisms by which cells carry out the tasks of living. Beautifully written and highly recommended.

Rothman, J., and L. Orci: "Budding Vesicles in Living Cells," Scientific American, March 1996, pages 70–75. Complex machinery forms the tiny containers that store proteins and shuttle them to and fro in cells.

Stossel, T.: "The Machinery of Cell Crawling," Scientific American, vol. 271, September 1994, pages 54–63. The role of protein scaffolding in the mechanism of cell crawling is discussed.