●The NKT cell system: bridging innate and acquired immunity. Taniguchi, M., Seino, K. I. & Nakayama, T. Nature Immunology December (2003).

●HIV-1 dynamics in vivo : implications for therapy. Simon, V. & Ho, D. D. Nature Reviews Microbiology December (2003).

●A reprint supplement on RNAi will be distributed with the December issues of Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery and Nature Reviews Genetics. The supplement — sponsored by Qiagen — contains six highlights, four reviews and a perspective, and is accompanied by a free web focus (http://www.nature.com/reviews/focus.rnai)

●The immune response of Drosophila. Hoffmann, J. A. Nature 6 November (2003).

●JAKing up immunosuppression. Sykes, M. Nature Medicine December (2003). Discussion of a recent study in Science reporting a new immunosuppressive agent that specifically targets cytokine signalling through JAK3 in a primate model of kidney transplantation.

●Autoimmunity heats up. Gelman, A. E. & Turka, L. A. Nature Medicine December (2003). This News & Views article discusses the role of heat-shock proteins in activating the immune system after a study showing that Hsp70 can trigger autoimmunity in a mouse model of diabetes.

●SARS — beginning to understand a new virus. Stadler, K. et al. Nature Reviews Microbiology December (2003). This review looks at the genomics, phylogeny and antigen structure of the SARS-Coronavirus (SARS-CoV), together with the immune response to it and potential therapeutic interventions.

●Adjuvants and their signalling pathways: beyond TLRs. Lien, E. & Golenbock, D. T. Nature Immunology December (2003). Microbial molecules that are ligands for TLRs, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and poly(I:C), can act as adjuvants by enhancing the immune response to other antigens. This News & Views article looks at the different signalling pathways induced by LPS and poly(I:C) and their dependence on the adaptor protein TRIF/TICAM1.

●Fresh assualt on hepatitis C. Rice, C. M. Nature 13 November (2003). Following on from the success of protease inhibitors in suppressing HIV replication, this News & Views article discusses recent promising trials of a drug that blocks a hepatitis C virus protease that is essential for replication. The drug BILN 2061 was found to cause a more rapid decrease in viral load than the present preferred therapy of interferon administration.