Eucerin: A Revolutionary Formulation Still Going Strong for Over a Century.

Eucerit, now more commonly known as Eucerin, was a revolutionary emulsion developed more than 100 years ago that is still popular and in common use today. The initial formulation is still the basis for a relevant global product line that holds significant market share today. The concept for Eucerin was originally developed in Germany by Dr Isaac Lifschütz, who helped develop Eucerin, meaning "beautiful wax," in 1898. The ointment was very smooth, allowing Eucerin to develop as a stable emulsion. Eucerin was revolutionary and outperformed all of its predecessors in emulsion stability, moisturizing ability, its ability to resist degradation, and its cost-effectiveness.1.

Andrew A. Benson, 1917-2015.

UNLABELLED: On January 16, 2015, Professor Andrew Alm Benson, one of the leading plant biochemists of the twentieth century, died in La Jolla, California, at the age of 97; he was born on September 24, 1917. Benson was known especially for his pioneering studies on photosynthesis (CO2 assimilation, carbon reduction cycle) and plant lipids (phospholipid phosphatidyl glycerol; and the sulfolipid, sulfoquinovosyl diglyceride). A photograph of Benson is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 1 Photograph of Andrew A. Benson. SOURCE: Annual Review of Plant Biology, Vol. 53, 2002, published with permission.

Founding, early history, and transformation of the Journal for Lipid Research to an American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.

The Journal of Lipid Research was founded in October, 1959 and has had a long and distinguished history. It evolved from an initial concept of a loose-leaf methodology handbook to a major journal for the lipid field. Its growth has in many ways paralleled the growth and expansion of lipid research. Today, it is operated as a journal of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the forefront of biomedical research on lipids.

In appreciation of Sir Philip Randle: the glucose-fatty acid cycle.

The coordinated regulation of metabolic fuel selection is crucial to energy homeostasis. Philip Randle and his colleagues developed the fundamental concept of interplay between carbohydrate and lipid fuels in relation to the requirement for energy utilisation and storage. Their insight has fashioned current understanding of the regulation of metabolism in health and disease, as well as providing a springboard for research into the roles of lipid derivatives in insulin resistance and, at the transcriptional level, lipid-regulated nuclear hormone receptors.

A brief history of lipid and lipoprotein measurements and their contribution to clinical chemistry.

The study of modern lipid chemistry began in the 17th and 18th centuries with early observations by Robert Boyle, Poulletier de la Salle, Antoine François de Fourcroy and others. The 19th century chemist, Chevreul, identified several fatty acids, suggested the name 'cholesterine' for the fatty substance in gallstones, coined the word 'glycerine', and showed that fats were comprised of glycerol and fatty acids. The 20th century brought many advances in the understanding of lipoprotein structure and function, and explored relationships between lipoproteins and disease states. The development of the ultracentrifuge and other lipoprotein separation techniques, and reagents for accurate, standardized quantitative measurement have steadily increased our understanding of the important role of lipoprotein metabolism in both healthy and disease states.