Fatty acids as cancer preventive tools in the dietary modulation of altered lipid profiles associated with hepatocarcinogenesis

Abstract

Research into cell biology provid ed evidence that all living beings consist of individual cells whose activities, inheritance and ability to assemble into organisms can be understood in logical biochemical terms (1). This demonstrated that however miraculous the existence of life on earth might be, life's mechanisms can be understood. Cell biology can be divided into a number of branches which are becoming progressively intertwined as research advances are made (2). The study of biological membranes is the branch most responsible for elucidating cell function as cellular membranes are the very boundaries within which life exists. A membrane separates the vast array of biochemical reactions that define a living cell from the extracellular world. Within the cell, membranes also organize and separate these biochemical reactions from each other, generating compositionally and morphologically distinct compartments.