During the past decade we have witnessed several major dis coveries in the area of protein synthesis and post-translational modification of protein molecules. In this volume, many of the lat est research developments in these fields are reported by the dis tinguished international group of scientists who presented their state-of-the-art results at the 13th Linderstr0m-Lang Conference held at God0Ysund, Norway, June 14-18, 1983. We feel that the presentation here of so wide a variety of articles on both the molecular and the cellular aspects of protein synthesis will be of considerable value to many scientists working in the area who were unable to attend, as well as to many who are active in related areas. In addition to the research papers, the contents of the six scientific sessions held during the conference have been summarized by the respective session chairmen. These individual summaries provide insightful syntheses of all the recent progress in each field, identify which current problems remain of special inter est, and suggest what the future may hold in the several areas of protein synthesis research covered. Though this volume obviously cannot provide a complete survey of all important ongoing research on the molecular and cellular biology of translational and post-translational events, we are confi dent that it will facilitate a much better understanding of many im portant contemporary problems in research on protein synthesis, including cell differentiation, translational accuracy, protein modifi cation, intracellular transport, and membrane turnover.
