The programme group continued its studies of mechanical properties of cellular membranes and cellular processes on topics in which its members have also previously contributed research results that were comparable to the results of other scientists involved in this field of research. During this period, a large amount of work has been devoted to the study of tubular membrane structures. Tubular membrane structures are particularly interesting in connection with the normal and pathological intracellular membrane transport. Several investigations on this subject, published recently in respectable journals like Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. and Phys. Rev. Lett., are based on our work from this period. Our results on the shapes of membrane protrusions may also contribute to the understanding of some cellular membrane processes, because similar structures were observed in various membrane trafficking phenomena. Among other achievements of our group, reported in the last period and comparable with the results of other research groups around the world, one can mention the analysis of trans-membrane transport of phospholipid molecules due to short-lived membrane pores, introduction of methodology for studying the influence of membrane pores on the properties of phospholipid vesicles, analysis of mechanical properties of red blood cell membrane and the analysis of conditions, at which red blood cells aggregate in a so-called rouleau. The analyses of rouleau are important as they contribute to better understanding of the influence of red blood cells on the rheological properties of blood. Aside from the increasing appreciation of the significance of mechanical properties of biological membranes in processes such as cytokinesis, the establishment of cellular polarity, intracellular membrane transport and phenomena such as exocytosis and endocytosis, the possible role of lipid vesicles in the origin of life has also been receiving an increasing attention. In this respect we were invited to contribute to a special edition of The Anatomical Record journal, devoted to the problem of astrobiology. International acknowledgement of our work is also evident from the invitations to present our results at international scientific symposia, while our integration in the current scientific research is evident from the invitation to cooperate in the project within the 6th joint European programme framework.