A key aim of Nature Reviews Neuroscience is to cover the breadth of contemporary neurobiology. In this issue that aim is brought into sharp relief by a series of articles that encapsulate current thinking in areas as diverse as the study of brain development and the computational aspects of brain function. Trainor and Krumlauf discuss recent evidence showing that, contrary to classic models, the neural crest that gives rise to craniofacial structures is not pre-patterned but is instead quite plastic. At the other end of the spectrum, Pouget, Dayan and Zemel describe the computational benefits of population coding strategies while highlighting some of the the challenges ahead in this field. But Nature Reviews Neuroscience is not only about the breadth of neuroscience — it is also about providing insight into difficult neurobiological questions. In this respect, the contributions from Bizzi and colleagues on motor control and the spinal cord and the two complementary articles on visual attention from Kanwisher and Wojciulik, and from Driver and Frith, provide examples of thought-provoking writing, which should make for very stimulating reading. Lastly, the reviews by Gusella and MacDonald, and Scannevin and Huganir, and the perspective by Hastings illustrate the spectacular progress that has been made during the Decade of the Brain. Indeed, huntingtin, PSD-95, polyglutamine disorders, and the clock proteins were only just emerging ten years ago. And what better way to bid farewell to the Decade of the Brain than with the recognition by the Nobel Assembly of three leading figures in the neuroscience community. Accordingly, in this month's Highlights section we present a small sample from some of the many articles that appeared in the international press concerning this award. It is reassuring to see that neuroscience can still make the front page as we enter the era of the genome.