title: Differential geometry meets the cell.
abstract: A new study by Terasaki et al. highlights the role of physical forces in biological form by showing that connections between stacked endoplasmic reticulum cisternae have a shape well known in classical differential geometry, the helicoid, and that this shape is a predictable consequence of membrane physics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA. wallace.marshall@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Wallace F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Marshall
mesh_terms: D061354:Acinar Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology*; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009474:Neurons / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000166:cytology*