Artefacts in electron microscopy and the consequences for biological and medical research.

It has been previously shown that the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, the lysosomes, the nuclear pores, and the cristae of the mitochondria could not exist in living cells. Therefore, study of them in all life sciences, or any apparent correlation between their 'structure' and 'function' should be abandoned. The consequences to biological and medical research of such conclusions are considered. Semantic and logical analyses of experiments should always be done, and all the assumptions inherent in them should be identified and tested. Research should be more directed to studies on whole living animals, rather than to metal deposits, precipitation patterns, homogenates, or tissue fixed or subjected to other powerful physical and chemical agents known to change them drastically.