obtained his academic degree in 1983 from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Barcelona. He then undertook his Doctorate at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in Barcelona working on the role of protein kinase C and lipid metabolism in multi-drug resistance. At present he is a formal scientific advisor of Dr. Argilés' group at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Barcelona. Neus Agell obtained her Doctorate in Biological Sciences from the University of Barcelona in 1986 working on ubiquitination of chromatin proteins during rooster spermatogenesis. She later did a post-doctoral stay at the Washington University in the laboratory of Dr. Milton Schlesinger, where she studied the mechanism of polyubiquitin processing. Today she is Associate Professor of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, where she is involved in the coordination of a research team, investigating the role of calmodulin in the regulation of cell proliferation. Célia García-Martínez obtained her Doctorate from the University of Barcelona in 1995 investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in muscle waste during cancer cachexia. At present she is undertaking postdoctoral research at the Institute Gustave Roussí, Paris, France, working on gene therapy applied to the treatment of molecular distrophies. Francisco J. López-Soriano obtained his Doctorate from the University of Barcelona in 1987 investigating the role of amino acids in brown adipose tissue thermogenesis. Later, he undertook postdoctoral research in the Metabolic Research Laboratory, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, UK, working on different aspects of cytokines during the perinatal period. In 1988 he was promoted to Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the University of Barcelona where he is at present investigating the role of cytokines in muscle wasting and its relation with cachexia. Josep M. Argilés obtained his Doctorate from the University of Barcelona in 1981. He then became Lecturer in Biochemistry and carried out postdoctoral work on acetone metabolism in mammals. In 1987 he undertook further postdoctoral training in the