This issue marks an evolution in Nature's news coverage. On page 1062, we are launching News Briefing — a two-page digest of the key events shaping the scientific enterprise in the past week. With coverage encompassing policy decisions, funding announcements, market trends and business deals, News Briefing offers a complete overview of the developments that affect anyone working in science. The section also features a calendar to highlight important events, reports and initiatives occurring in the forthcoming week.

Science is inextricably linked with the messy details of politics and commerce, and it is vital for today's researchers to be aware of how political and business decisions can steer their research programmes — and indeed how their research can affect society. Similarly, policy-makers require the perspective that science can provide on the likely outcomes of their decisions. Yet it is all too easy to miss something important in the torrent of news that pours down on us every day.

By gathering all of the important events in one place, News Briefing aims to plug that gap. In doing so, it complements Research Highlights, which for the past four years has brought you our editors' selections of the most interesting research results from beyond the pages of Nature. Both sections will guide you to longer analytical pieces and exclusives in the main news section or online at http://www.nature.com/news. Apart from breaking daily news stories, our news website also carries stories from the print edition before they make it onto paper, getting analysis and information to our subscribers as soon as possible.

The introduction of News Briefing to our family of daily online coverage and weekly analysis means that Nature now provides a complete overview of the important events shaping our readers' lives. As ever, we would welcome any feedback on the changes, which should be sent to nature@nature.com.