Turning the page on front matter: Wishing Nan Eckardt a joyful retirement

Overview

The endoplasmic reticulum or ER makes up for more than half of the membranes in a cell and accounts for 10% of total cell volume. It is also the primary protein and lipid synthesis factory for most cell organelles, such as the Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, secretory vesicles, and the plasma membrane. Despite being the most extensive and functionally complex subcellular organelle, ER was the last to be discovered. After years of deliberation, Keith Porter and George Palade in the year 1954,...

The nature of leaving groups strongly influences the outcome of a nucleophilic substitution reaction.
In general, in a nucleophilic substitution reaction, a nucleophile displaces a functional group, called the leaving group, from the substrate to give a substituted product. A leaving group departs the substrate molecule through heterolytic cleavage, taking the pair of electrons with it to become a relatively stable weak base in the form of an anion or a neutral molecule.  
In a...

Several body functions deteriorate with age. The external signs of aging are easily identifiable. For example, the skin becomes dry, less elastic, and thins out, forming wrinkles. The skin of the face begins to appear looser due to a decrease in the levels of elastic and collagen fibers in the connective tissue. Additionally, melanin production in the hair follicle decreases with age, resulting in gray hair. Moreover, the senses of sight and hearing decline, so glasses and hearing aids may...

Replicative cell senescence is a property of cells that allows them to divide a finite number of times throughout the organism's lifespan while preventing excessive proliferation. Replicative senescence is associated with the gradual loss of the telomere — short, repetitive DNA sequences found at the end of the chromosomes. Telomeres are bound by a group of proteins to form a protective cap on the ends of chromosomes. Embryonic stem cells express telomerase — an enzyme that adds...