A place for everything, and everything in its place. This phrase applies as much to science as to everyday life. For example, the position of organelles and reactions within cells is as important as the position of single cells within multicellular organisms. In their article on page 647, Jacqueline Hayles and Paul Nurse describe the lengths to which fission yeast go to ensure that they grow in a straight line and that the nucleus takes pride of place in the centre of the cell.

The spindle pole body is crucial for generating positional information in yeast cells. Its mammalian counterpart — the centrosome — was named on the basis of its central position within the cell. On page 688, Stephen Doxsey re-evaluates centrosomal function, discussing the progress that has been made since it was originally designated a microtubule-organizing centre. The centrosome is now postulated, for instance, to position the mitotic spindle, the importance of which is emphasized in the Highlight on page 642, where evidence is presented that a newly identified checkpoint controls its correct orientation.

The mitotic spindle binds replicated chromosomes through kinetochores, and a review by Katsumi Kitagawa and Philip Hieter on page 678 details the similarities and differences between yeast and human kinetochores. A Highlight on page 645 reveals that both motor and non-motor microtubule-associated proteins are required for separating sister chromatids to the opposite ends of the mitotic spindle.

Finally, still on the topic of position — but on a far greater scale — Wieland Huttner (page 699) describes the opening of the new Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, optimally located for developing scientific links to Eastern Europe.