Lionel A. Manson - Böcker

Both science and religion are aspects of human endeavor that do not observe political constraints. It is therefore appropriate that contributions should come from many different countries for a series which attempts to chronicle developments in an interdisciplinary field such as membrane research. This volume is an excellent example of the diversity of thinking, background, and approach needed by the working scientist for his re­ search planning. From Canada comes a review by Silverman and Turner of the mech­ anisms by means of which the plasma membrane of the renal proximal tubule acts as a transport mediator. The two chapters that were writtyn by American scientists are excellent examples of the comparative bio­ chemical approach. Inouye feels he must apologize for being interested in the outer membrane of E. coli, but it is obvious, after a reading of his chapter, that no apology is required. On the contrary, we are grateful for his drawing our attention to this system and its unique properties. Holtz­ man, Gronowicz, Mercurio, and Masur are also on a consciousness­ raising mission in summarizing for us a number of integrated functions of membranes using the toad bladder as an experimental system. The other two chapters of this volume come from overseas. N orthcote has again demonstrated his capacity to integrate a complex and difficult field.

This volume contains the contributions to a symposium held at Gatlinburg, Tennessee, under the auspices of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in April, 1971. In the past, these proceedings had appeared as a supplement to the Journal of Cellular Physiology. Due to the nature of the subject ma­ terial and the relevance of the topic of the symposium to the readers of BIOMEMBRANES, it was agreed by the organizers of the symposium to publish the contributions of the partici­ pants as a separate volume in BIOMEMBRANES. It had been originally envisaged that, from time to time, the proceedings of a conference whose subject matter was directly related to the scope of this series would be included. The proceedings are being published exactly as they have been submitted to the Editor without the usual editorial re­ V1S10n. This is being done to increase the speed of publica­ tion. For the same rOeason, no indices have been provided since the time needed to prepare an adequate subject index would have unnecessarily delayed publication. Included in the proceedings are short reports of a number of workshops that were held during the conference. The editor has received excellent cooperation from both the organizers of the conference and the several contributors to this volume. If the experiment is a success, it is thanks to their promptness.

It was a warm, sunny morning in Rehovot. The sky was c1ear as it always is in June. As I walked to the Institute that morning, too many cars were passing by, too many people were hurrying onto the Institute's grounds. No one was smiling, acquaintances were recognized by a slight nod of the head. When I turned the corner, a few people already had gathered on the lawn in front of the Jacob Ziskind building. This number was to swell to thousands before the service was over. We were to be joined by the President of Israel, its first Prime Minister, many members of the cabinet, and other great, near-great, working colleagues, and residents of the town. The purpose of all this activity was written on everyone's face, and underlined by the casket that lay in the rotunda of the building. His wife was sitting there, his children, his brother, his students both past and present. One could hear the silence of the participants. I stood inside for a while, overlooking the rotunda. A long line of mourners filed by, offering their sympathies to the family. Suddenly a woman, dressed in black, fell to her knees in front 9f Rina, sobbing. It was the wife of the Japanese Ambassador to Israel. I moved to join the crowd outside. People were standing on the lawn, gingerly trying to avoid stepping on a flower.