ABSTRACT
When cells or cellular systems are exposed to the ice formation that accompanies exposure to low subzero temperatures, they are subjected to profound changes in the physical state and chemical properties of their surrounding milieu, and the cells undergo major physical responses to these changes. Liquid water plays a quintessential role in the structure and function of living systems, and the most obvious change accompanying freezing is that the amount of this liquid is progressively reduced and eventually vanishes. The chapter begins by briefly reviewing the structure of both liquid water and ice, some of the ways that liquid water influences the structure of cellular macromolecules, and the nature of water on the surfaces of those macromolecules. The discussion is then extended to cells and their membranes.
