This novel book presents a multi-disciplinary perspective on the physics of life and the particular role played by lipids and the lipid-bilayer component of cell membranes. The emphasis is on the physical properties of lipid membranes seen as soft and molecularly structured interfaces, and the applications of lipids in nano-technology and biomedicine are also described. By combining and synthesizing insights obtained from a variety of recent studies, an attempt is made to clarify what membrane structure is and how it can be quantitatively described. Furthermore, it is shown how biological function mediated by membranes is controlled by lipid membrane structure and organization on length scales ranging from the size of the individual molecule, across molecular assemblies of proteins and lipid domains in the range of nanometers, to the size of whole cells.

The Overlooked Molecules

Life from Molecules
Head and Tail
Oil and Water
Lipids Speak the Language of Curvature
A Matter of Softness
Soft Shells Shape Up
Biological Membranes - Models and Fashion
Prologue: Lipidomics - A Science Beyond Stamp Collection
Lipids Make Sense
Lipids in Bilayers - A Stressful Life
The More We Are Together
Lipids in Flatland
Social Lipids
Lively Lipids Provide for Function
Proteins at Lipid Mattresses
Lipids in Action
Cholesterol on the Scene
Lipids in Charge
Being Smart - A Fishy Matter of Fat
Liquor and Drugs - As a Matter of Fat
Lipid Eaters
Powerful and Strange Lipids at Work
Survival by Lipids.