The importance of lipids as one of the fundamental classes of biological compounds is well established. The application of our knowledge of the biochemistry, chemistry and physiology of lipids to biotechnology, the fats and oils industry and medicine have continued to expand apace. In addition new dimensions such as lipid biophysics, especially with relevance to membranes and lipoproteins, and basic liposome research and applications have been added. To cope with all these advances in knowledge a journal is needed to review recent progress in particular fields and to set current research against its historical background. Progress in Lipid Research fulfils this role.

Each volume contains up-to-date surveys of special aspects of lipid research. The invited reviews are comprehensive enough to provide sufficient overview but concentrate on reporting and critically appraising the most recent data. Subjects are chosen for their timeliness or because major developments have taken place in the last few years. They include methodological reviews as well as chemical, biochemical and medical articles. All lipid compounds and derivatives are covered, ranging from fatty acids and other simple molecules, through steroids, terpenoids and phospho- or glycolipids to complex structures such as lipoproteins and biological membranes. We hope that those whose main interest is in lipid biophysics and liposome research will join as new readers, benefiting from the journal's classical aspects of lipid metabolism, lipids in signal transduction and lipid enzymology, and that current readers will benefit from the exposure to top quality research on the new aspects.