Biological Membrane Composition and Structures

The section “Biological Membrane Composition and Structures”, a subdivision of the former section “Membranes in Life Sciences” of Membranes, aims to rapidly publish contributions on all aspects of biological membrane studies, which include various cell biological, biochemical, biophysical, and molecular biological studies. In the genomic era, most scientists focus on genes and their products, proteins. However, life could not exist without membranes, since the lipid membrane is an essential constituent of cells. Nonetheless, membranes suffer from invisibility and are poorly characterized, due to the paucity of suitable visualization methods as well as difficulties arising from analyzing the complex mixtures of lipid molecules that are present in cells; as such, the nature of the membrane in life, and its regulation, hold enormous secrets. The section “Biological Membrane Composition and Structures” covers all aspects of biology related to biological membranes, including lipid membranes, especially in relation to the proteins that associate with or reside both on and within biological membranes. Topics include but are not limited to:

• Membrane shaping of cells
• Membrane shaping of subcellular organelles
• Membrane shaping of artificial liposomes
• Transport across membranes
• Cell function related to membrane morphogenesis
• Transport by membrane vesicles
• Membrane interaction with proteins, sugars, and other biological materials
• Biological membrane synthesis
• Application of biological membranes and mimicry in industry and research
• Visualization of membranes