Klionsky (life sciences, U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor) defines "autophagy" as "a process in which the cell typically undergoes membrane rearrangement to sequester a portion of cytoplasm, deliver it to a degradative organelle and recycle the macromolecular constituents." He argues that, in the traditional view of organelles as cellular garbage disposals, the ongoing drive toward homeostatis between cell death and synthesis has been overlooked. His introduction also lists the new nomenclature for 27 autophagy-related genes. In 22 other chapters, international contributors review autophagy in organisms from yeast to humans and its roles in metabolism, aging, cancer and neuromuscular diseases. Some graphics are in color.