Materials Science of the Cell

摘要

Living cells are formidably complex systems that perform highly coordinated tasks which relate multiple biochemical and biophysical inputs to cell activities. Cell tasks may include not only adhesion And spreading, receptor-ligand mediated Signal transduction, division, growth and Programmed death, but also cell-type- Dependent functions such as the envi- Ronmental barrier provided by skin cells. These various cellular activities, often Performed simultaneously or in a hierar- Chical order, involve hundreds of mem- Brane, cytoplasmic, and extracellular Proteins, ions, and small molecules, which Interact with one another by means of Regulated forces.