Natural killer cells, viruses and cancer. Cerwenka, A. & Lanier, L. L. Nature Reviews Immunology October (2001).

With the ends in sight: images from the BRCA1 tumor suppressor. Baer, R. Nature Structural Biology October (2001). This News and Views article reports on the recently solved structures of regions of the BRCA1 tumour-suppressor protein. The image — a ribbon diagram of the BRCA1–BARD1 heterodimer complex — is taken from one of the research papers to which this article is linked: Brzovic P. S. et al. Structure of a BRCA1–BARD1 heterodimeric RING–RING complex.

Segmental duplications: an expanding role in genomic instability and disease. Emanuel, B. S. & Shaikh, T. H. Nature Reviews Genetics October (2001).

Catch and pull a microtubule: getting a grasp on the cortex. Allan, V. & Näthke, I. Nature Cell Biology October (2001). A News and Views article that discusses how APC and β-catenin interact with the cytoskeleton to mediate its cortical attachment.

TGF-β signaling in tumor suppression and cancer progression. Derynck, R., Ackhurst R. J. & Balmain, A. Nature Genetics October (2001).

The INK4a/ARF network in tumour suppression. Sherr C. J. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology October (2001).

Redirecting T cell specificity by TCR gene transfer. Moss, P. A. H. Nature Immunology October (2001). This News and Views article describes how genes encoding T-cell receptors can be transferred to T cells using a retroviral delivery system. This allows T cells to be targeted to specific antigens, so, by using tumour-specific receptors, can aid the generation of an effective anti-tumour immune response.

PKB/AKT: functional insights from genetic models. Scheid, M. P. & Woodgett J. R. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology October (2001).

Cell cycle: Archipelago of destruction. Schwab, M. & Tyers, M. Nature 20 September (2001). A News and Views article on three recent papers that identify the F-box protein — hCdc4/Fbw7/Apo — that targets cyclin E for degradation. Cyclin E accumulates in many cancers, which could be because of defects in degradation. In fact, mutations in this F-box gene have been detected in several tumour cell lines.