As the acute infectious diseases recede in importance, and as the number of people surviving into middle and old age increases, the chronic 'degenerative' diseases assume greater importance as causes of death and disability. Of these diseases, atherosclerosis is by far the most prevalent and its consequences the most devastating. The search for the cause of atherosclerosis is consuming large amounts of resources of both money and research talent. As yet, the cause remains unknown. Much of the research effort into atherosclerosis has been concerned with lipid metabolism. This is based on the...