Broad overview of course topics : -Biomembranes: evolutionary logic -What is so unique about membrane organization? -What holds the membrane together: the hydrophobic effect -Manifestations of diverse types of anisotropy in biomembranes -Membrane dynamics and diffusion: cellular timescales (time windows of molecular motion) -How to monitor membrane dynamics: spectroscopic (fluorescence, ESR) and microscopic (FRAP) approaches -Phase transition in membranes: effect of cholesterol -Cellular signaling and dynamics - are they correlated? -Lipid-protein interactions: annular and nonannular lipids -Crowding in membranes and its consequences -Membrane proteins and receptors: GPCRs and cellular signaling -Membrane domains: platforms for organization and signaling