David A. Wink is at the Radiation Biology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. wink@box-w.nih.gov
Nitric oxide has achieved fame as a regulator of numerous physiological processes, far outshining its humbler cousins, nitrate and nitrite. Now, nitrite steps into the spotlight. It appears that this ion may provide a source of NO during the regulation of blood flow under stressful conditions (pages 1498−1505).
