This book consists of a series of reviews on selected topics within the rapidly and vastly expanding field of membrane biology. Its aim is to highlight the most significant and important advances that have been made in recent years in understanding the structure, dynamics, and functions of cell membranes. The progress that is being made in research in this field is due to the application of integrated experimental ap- proaches, utilizing sophisticated and novel techniques in molecular biology, cell biology, biophysics and biochemistry. Due to the advances made, many problems have been or are being solved at the molecular level. With the help of an Editorial Advisory Board consisting of Jean-Pierre Changeux (Paris), Paolo Comoglio (Torino), Rainer Jaenicke (Regens- burg), Sten Orrenius (Stockholm), Lorenzo Pinna (Padova), Konrad Sandhoff (Bonn), and Gottfried Schatz (Basel), we have selected a number of topics in areas in which progress has been particularly rapid, and have invited internationally acknowledged experts in the field to review these topics. The areas covered in this monograph are: 1) Signal transduction; 2) Membrane traffic: Proteins and lipids; 3) Bioenergetics: Energy transfer and membrane transport; 4) Cellular ion homeostasis; 5) Growth factors and adhesion molecules; 6) Structural analysis of mem- brane proteins; and 7) Membranes and disease.

The investigation of the properties of condensed matter using experimental nuclear methods is becoming increasingly important. An extremely broad range of techniques is used, including the use of particles, such as positrons and neutrons, ion beams, and the detection of radiation from nuclear decays or nuclear reactions. Nuclear Condensed Matter Physics: Nuclear Methods and Applications is the only book to provide a comprehensive coverage of the nuclear methods used to study the properties of condensed matter. It covers all the key techniques, including the MAssbauer effect, perturbed angular correlation, muon spin rotation, neutron scattering, positron annihilation, nuclear magnetic resonance and ion beam analysis. Numerous examples are given throughout the text to illustrate how each of the experimental methods is used in modern condensed matter physics, and practical details concerning instrumentation are included to help the reader apply each method. Nuclear Condensed Matter Physics: Nuclear Methods and Applications is an invaluable textbook for graduate students of condensed matter physics and chemistry, and is of great interest to those studying materials science and applied nuclear physics. It is also a key reference source for more experienced researchers in these and related fields, including nuclear and condensed matter physicists and solid state and inorganic chemists.