In life's long march from the primordial ooze, anything with more than one cell- from the simplest, oldest living creature to man- is knitted into whatever it is by collagen. Collagens are fascinating proteins not only because they are unique in structure and function, but also because of their ubiquitous distribution throughout the animal kingdom. Knowledge of the structure, biosynthesis and interactions with other components, its regulation and degradation mechanisms and changes it undergoes with age is therefore essential, for the understanding of the functioning of the tissues. As we know...