●Therapeutic vaccination for chronic diseases: a new class of drugs in sight. Bachmann, M. F. & Dyer, M. R. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery January (2004). An Opinion article on new vaccination strategies to treat chronic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

●Prion disease: bridging the spleen-nerve gap. Mabbott, N. A. & Bruce, M. E. Nature Medicine December (2003) A News and Views article on prion infection of non-neural tissues in sporadic Creutzfeld-Jakob disease.

●Jazzing up neuroscience. Janata, P. Nature 27 November (2003) Janata reviews the book The Cognitive Neuroscience of Music, edited by Isabelle Peretz and Robert Zatorre.

●Doublecortin finds its place. Götz, M. Nature Neuroscience December (2003) Mutations in the human doublecortin gene cause a cell migration defect that results in a 'double cortex'. This News and Views article describes how an RNA interference (RNAi) gene inactivation strategy in the rat brain is elucidating doublecortin's role in radial neuronal migration.

●Paraneoplastic neurological degenerations: keys to tumour immunity. Albert, M. L. & Darnell, R. B. Nature Reviews Cancer January (2004) Paraneoplastic neurological degenerations (PNDs) are neurological disorders that develop in patients with cancer. PNDs are triggered by an antitumour immune response against neuronal antigens that are expressed in cancer cells. Studying patients with PND has provided unique insights into mechanisms of tumour immunity.

●TRP channels as cellular sensors. Clapham, D. E. Nature 4 December (2003)

●Tubby proteins: the plot thickens. Carroll, K. et al. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology January (2004) The tubby mouse, which shows late-onset obesity and neurosensory deficits, arises from a mutation in the Tub gene. Tub shares homology with the tubby-like protein (TULP) genes Tulp1, Tulp2 and Tulp3. Current data indicate that TULPs might function as heterotrimeric G-protein-responsive intracellular signalling factors, although they have also been implicated in other processes.

●Embryonic stem cells in drug discovery. McNeish, J. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery January (2004)

●Anti-steroid takes aim at neuropathy. De Jonghe, P. & Timmerman, V. Nature Medicine December (2003) The most common form of inherited peripheral neuropathy results from overexpression of a single gene. As the authors of this News and Views article discuss, application of an antiprogesterone drug can reduce gene expression and alleviate symptoms in a rat model.