●Egalitarian and the case of the missing link. Pearson, J. & González-Reyes, A. Nature Cell Biology May (2004). A News and Views article on work that shows that the Egalitarian protein, which is required for the localization of mRNAs and proteins to the oocyte of the Drosophila ovary, interacts with an integral component of the Dynein motor complex, the Dynein Light Chain Dlc1.

●Lymphocyte trafficking across high endothelial venules: dogmas and enigmas. Miyasaka, M. & Tanaka, T. Nature Reviews Immunology May (2004).

●Structure and mechanism of the RNA Polymerase II transcription machinery. Hahn, S. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology May (2004).

●H-NS: a universal regulator for a dynamic genome. Dorman, C. J. Nature Reviews Microbiology May (2004). A Review on the functions and regulation of the bacterial nucleoid-associated protein H-NS, which exerts widespread effects on gene expression. It also discusses the implications of the discovery that genes encoding H-NS-like proteins can be carried on mobile genetic elements.

●Stem cells: lost in translation. Chien, K. R. Nature 8 April (2004). Stem cells have potential as agents of repair in human disease, but, according to this News and Views author, we should be wary of prematurely pushing laboratory research into clinical practice.

●Type IV pilus structure and bacterial pathogenicity. Craig, L., Pique, M. E. & Tainer, J. A. Nature Reviews Microbiology May (2004).

●Micromanagers of gene expression: the potential impact of microRNAs on mRNA expression and evolution. Bartel, D. P. & Chen, C. -Z. Nature Reviews Genetics May (2004).

●Cellular and molecular mechanisms of presynaptic assembly. Ziv, N. E. & Garner, C. C. Nature Reviews Neuroscience May (2004).

●Improving the efficiency of RNA interference in mammals. Mittal, V. Nature Reviews Genetics May (2004). This author reviews recent improvements to the design, delivery and expression of interfering RNAs for large-scale RNA-interference screens in mammals.

●Focus on targeted therapiesNature Reviews Cancer May (2004).

●The proteasome: a suitable antineoplastic target. Adams, J.

●The TOR pathway: a target for cancer therapy. Bjornsti, M.-A. & Houghton, P. J.

●The discovery of receptor tyrosine kinases: targets for cancer therapy. Gschwind, A. Fischer, O. M. & Ullrich, A.