●Getting a grip on things: how do communities of bacterial symbionts become established in our intestine? Sonnenburg, J. L., Angenent, L. T. & Gordon, J. I. Nature Immunology June (2004)

●Calcium, kinases and nodulation signalling in legumes Oldroyd, G. E. D. & Downie, J. A. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology July (2004)

●Parasitic turncoat Antia, R. & Koella, J. Nature 3 June (2004) A new mathematical model of antigenic variation in Plasmodium falciparum comes to the surprising conclusion that small changes in surface molecules are more effective than larger ones at prolonging survival in the host, as discussed in this News and Views article.

●Insights into morphogenesis from a simple developmental system Chisholm, R. L. & Firtel, R. A. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology July (2004) This Review discusses the use of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum as a model system for studying morphogenesis.

●Overcoming resistance Hadley, C. EMBO Reports June (2004) This Analysis article makes the case for focusing efforts on surveillance and education in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, rather than relying on the development of new drugs.

●The calcium connection Tromans, A. Nature 20 May (2004) A cascade of molecular events is required for the development of male malaria gametes before they emerge from host red blood cells. This News and Views article describes a recent study revealing that the release of calcium ions and subsequent activation of the calcium-dependent protein kinase CDPK4 has a key role in this process.

●Not so special, after all? Knight, J. Nature 20 May (2004) The gut parasite Giardia intestinalis holds particular interest for evolutionary biologists as it is thought to pre-date the event that gave eukaryotic cells their mitochondria. As discussed in this news feature, recent evidence disputes this position of Giardia in evolutionary history, suggesting that mitochondria were once present in this parasite.

●Genome sequence of an omnipotent fungus Teeri, T. T. Nature Biotechnology June (2004) This News and Views article discusses how genome sequencing of the white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium has identified new enzymes with potential uses in industrial processes and bioremediation.