With this volume of the Annual Review of Nutrition, it is my pleasure and privilege as a departing editor to state that matters are in good stead. The first editor of our series was William Darby, who served for four years and established the quality and scope of the Annual Review of Nutrition. The associate editors during this period of 1981 to 1984 were Harry Broquist and Robert Olson, with the latter assuming the editorship in 1985. He ably maintained the mission of our series, in concert with others from Annual Reviews, in providing "a systematic, periodic examination of scholarly advances in our field through critical authoritative reviews." After my "apprenticeship" as a member of the editorial committee for five years and a further five years as an associate editor, I became editor in 1995. I have been aided by Alan Goodrich, Dennis Bier, and Robert Cousins as associate editors and additionally had the input of the colleagues who have constituted the editorial committee. The 2005 issue of the Annual Review of Nutrition will be edited by Robert Cousins with Dennis Bier and Barbara Bowman as associate editors. It can be expected that our current ISI® ranking of number one in impact factor among nutrition and dietetics journals will continue.

In this volume of the Annual Review of Nutrition, I have the honor of writing the prefatory chapter, in which I attempt to summarize how my interest in nature and science led to my becoming a nutritional biochemist. Succeeding chapters cover recent advances in topics that represent the breadth of our profession. The critical role of the melanocortin system in controlling energy balance is considered by Seeley et al. Under lipids, the dietary n-6 and n-3 fatty acids related to cardiovascular disease are discussed by Wijendran and Hayes, and the role of delta 6, 5, and 9 desaturases is considered by Nakamura and Nara. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of flavonoids on atherosclerosis are summarized by Kris-Etherton et al. In the amino acids category, Stipanuk brings us up-to-date on the pathways for production and removal of homocysteine and cysteine. Extracellular thiols and the oxidation/reduction of thiols and disulfides are reviewed by Moriarty-Craige and Jones. Regulation of cationic amino acid transport is discussed by Hatzoglou et al. Newer findings on vitamins are reviewed in chapters on erythropoiesis by Koury and Ponka, the worldwide problem of B12 deficiency by Stabler and Allen, and the developmental aspects of ascorbate synthesis in the pig by Mahan et al. Soprano et al. review retinoic acid receptors and cancer. Three chapters deal with zinc: Its cellular transporters are summarized by Liuzzi and Cousins, its relationship to infectious diseases by Walker and Black, and the programming of the immune system is reviewed by Fraker and King. An update on iron and ferritin is provided by Theil. Of clinical concern is calcium and bone metabolism in children with chronic illnesses, discussed by Abrams and O'Brien. Chapters on other components that we ingest or imbibe include isoflavones in soy infant formula, reviewed by Chen and Rogan, and alcohol metabolism, reviewed by Nagy. Gladyshev et al. discuss identification of micronutrient-associated proteins in genomic databases. Nutrient regulation of cell cycle progression is reviewed by Bohnsack and Hirschi. The protection conferred by nutrients against sunlight damage to the skin is considered by Sies and Stahl. Finally, several chapters deal with public health issues, such as the increasing problem of America's obesity, discussed by Tillotson; nutrition and cancer prevention, reviewed by Forman et al.; secular trends in dietary intake in the United States, summarized by Briefel and Johnson; and environmental factors that increase food intake and consumption volume, by Wansink.

It may be of interest to our readers that Annual Reviews now offers an Electronic Back Volume Collection, which is a comprehensive collection of the contents of all Annual Review series dating back to the first volume of the Annual Review of Biochemistry published in 1932. This collection is available by subscription only. More information is available at www.AnnualReviews.org.

I close with thanks to the many authors and colleagues who have helped generate the volumes with which I have dealt. Special thanks go to Production Editor Lisa Dean and to the president of Annual Reviews, Sam Gubins.

Donald B. McCormick

Editor