User:Jimmer/The hydrophobic effect results from non-polar molecules being excluded from aqueous solution

In direct consequence of the fact that:

Atoms differ in electronegativity in a periodic pattern

Covalent bonds can be polar

Polar molecules have unequal distribution of charge

Therefore:

The hydrophobic effect results from non-polar molecules being excluded from aqueous solution

In direct consequence of this fact:

Detergents spontaneously form micelles, including a hydrophobic interior, in aqueous solution

Phospholipids spontaneously form lipid bilayers, including a hydrophobic interior, in aqueous solution

Biological membranes are phospholipid bilayers

Other ideas are closely related, including:

Cell membranes separate the cell from its environment

The lumen of endomembrane compartments is topologically equivalent to the extracellular environment