●GSK-3β sets Snail's pace. Schlessinger, K. & Hall, A. Nature Cell Biology October (2004)

A News and Views article discussing evidence that accumulation of non-phosphorylated SNAIL protein — due to inhibition of GSK3β — promotes the epithelial to mesenchymal transition in human cancer.

●Linking pathways in colorectal cancer. Van den Brink, G. R. Nature Genetics October (2004)

This News and Views article highlights a recent paper about a new mouse model of an inherited cancer syndrome, juvenile polyposis syndrome.

●The RAF proteins take centre stage. Wellbrock, C., Karasarides, M. & Marais, R. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology November (2004)

This article focuses on RAF proteins, including recent data on BRAF in cancer.

●Poster on apoptosis pathways and drug targets.Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology and Nature Reviews Drug Discovery November (2004).

This poster provides a useful overview of the main apoptotic pathways. It highlights pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic leads that might help in the future treatment of cancer. The poster is freely available online for 6 months.

●Strategies to enhance T-cell reconstitution in immunocompromised patients. van den Brink, M. R. M., Alpdogan, Ö. & Boyd, R. L. Nature Reviews Immunology November (2004)

●Refocusing on BRCA1. Ashworth, A. Nature Cell Biology October (2004)

A new splice variant of BRCA1 — BRCA1/IRIS — has been discovered, with a previously unknown function in DNA replication. In this News and Views article, Alan Ashworth discusses the implications for understanding how loss of BRCA1 integrity predisposes to cancer.

●Engineering sweet targets for magic bullets. Feizi, T. Nature Biotechnology October (2004)

This News and Views article discusses how detecting specific monosaccharides on glycans could help in the diagnosis of cancer and how a similar approach could be used to guide antibodies or immunotoxins to tumour cells as anticancer therapy.