This year has seen some encouraging developments in vaccine research, including the recent early release of data from a Phase III trial of the RTS,S malaria vaccine, which showed modest but potentially valuable efficacy, and the development of IKEPLUS, a new candidate vaccine for tuberculosis. Furthermore, as highlighted in Disease watch on page 837, a recent proof-of-concept study has demonstrated that a plasmid-deficient strain of Chlamydia trachomatis is a functional live attenuated vaccine against trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness. The science of vaccinology began more than 200 years ago with Jenner's smallpox vaccine, and the progress that has been made from then until the present day and the development of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines is outlined in a fascinating Timeline article on page 889.

Like vaccines, antimicrobials are a key tool for the control of infectious diseases. However, unlike vaccines, which have been undergoing something of a renaissance of late, research and development for antimicrobials has been in the doldrums, in large part owing to the problems posed by the inexorable rise of resistance. Earlier this year, a group of leading scientists from academia and industry met to discuss how the problem of antibiotic resistance might best be tackled. In an Essay on page 894, they outline their views on the most important priorities for future antimicrobial research and intervention, which must be addressed urgently to resolve this global crisis.

Last, this month we say goodbye to Christiaan van Ooij, who has been our Chief Editor for the past 3 years. Christiaan can no longer resist the siren call of the bench and is taking up a Wellcome Trust Career Re-entry Fellowship to return to the laboratory. We wish him well.