Excerpt from Preface: "This book was conceived with the idea of providing a comprehensive introduction to molecular studies of membranes and is directed toward students, teachers, and researchers in the biological, physical, and medical sciences. It emphasizes correlations between the genetic, functional, chemical, and physical approaches to the study of membranes and their component parts. We have attempted to present a didactic volume rather than a series of exhaustively referenced review articles. Though the individual chapters do not, as a result, provide extensive literature reviews, the references to the key techniques and principles are cited for those interested in a point of departure for research in membranology."