The January 2012 special issue presents two important strategies for generating potent and lasting anti-tumor immunity. The first strategy is to subvert immune suppressive networks in the tumor microenvironment. The second strategy is to optimize conventional and anti-biological modalities to directly target tumor and adjacent tumor tissue, and mobilize and expand anti-tumor immunity in the tumor microenvironment which results in tumor eradication. Further background information on this important topic is available through the accompanying web focus which links to related articles from across Springer Nature.

Vascular dysfunction can cause or contribute to many types of pathology, from hypertension to myocardial infarction to cancer. This series of reviews—inspired by the conference "Vascular Disease 2011: From Bench to Bedside", event cosponsored by the UCSD Clinical and Translational Research Institute and Nature Medicine—highlights new mechanistic findings across a broad spectrum of vascular diseases that may lead to new and innovative treatments.

Which new findings are having the greatest influence on cancer research today? We asked experts to help identify the most important recent papers that are shaping the direction of cancer research. Here we present their selections and thoughts on the impact of current research directions on future clinical gains.

The articles in this collection review our progress in understanding the neurobiological basis of pain and the challenges to translate these advances into new analgesics.

Helper T cell heterogeneity was discovered two decades ago, initially with the designation of Th1 and Th2 cells, which are involved in immunity against intracellular and extracellular pathogens, respectively. Several years ago a third lineage was identified as the Th17 cells and several novel T cell subsets have since been found, including Treg and Tfh cells. The collection of articles presented in the May special issue and accompanying web focus summarize our understanding of the development and function of the T cell subsets in immunity and immune diseases.

Gene silencing through RNA interference (RNAi) has become the tool of choice for genome-scale, high-throughput analyses of gene function and has had a tremendous impact on science and drug discovery. Now, RNAi libraries targeting whole genomes or functionally related pathways permit systematic screens for clinically relevant components of cellular networks. Advances in rational design, sequence selection strategies and delivery options have substantially improved the utility of short interfering RNA (siRNA), short hairpin RNA (shRNA) and microRNA (miRNA) tools for screening.

Welcome to the content sampler of Nature Medicine. Since 1995, our journal has been at the forefront of publishing translational medicine, way before the term was even coined. Our focus on publishing basic and preclinical work that has direct relevance to human disease has been a key characteristic of Nature Medicine that has helped establish the reputation of the journal in the translational research landscape.To put together this sampler, we have chosen a series of recent articles from our pages, organized them by therapeutic area, and made them freely available in order to give you a glimpse of the breadth of Nature Medicine's coverage, as well as the quality of the science we publish.In addition, we have chosen a few landmark articles that we had the privilege to publish over the past 15 years in an effort to illustrate why Nature Medicine is the "Home of Translational Research".

In what direction is the field of reproductive biology going? By bringing together input from top scientists and decision makers interested in this field, this focus identifies the recent papers with the most impact in reproductive biology and identifies the key issues that are shaping our thinking in this field.

In what direction is the field of tuberculosis going? By bringing together input from top scientists, analysts and decision makers interested in tuberculosis research, this focus identifies the recent papers with the most impact in the discipline and identifies the key issues that are shaping our thinking in this field.

A collection of research and review articles from Nature Publishing Group on recent advances in our understanding of psychiatric disorders.

In the same spirit as our metabolic syndrome focus, a close look at the papers that have had the most influence on the Alzheimer community, and an analysis of the relevant drug market and funding priorities.

Milestones in Cancer is a collaborative project involving three journals - Nature,Nature MedicineandNature Reviews Cancer- and celebrates more than 100 years of discoveries in the field of cancer.