Hearing about past and present issues in the world community of immunology can enrich all of us, according to the Editorial in this month’s (April) issue of Nature Immunology (9, 331; 2008). The journal is publishing a series of commentaries on immunology in various places in the world, to demonstrate how, as a community, immunologists work and live together to advance the discipline.

Beginning with a piece by Agustin Lage on immunology, public health and biotechnology in Cuba in February (Nat. Immun. 9, 109-112; 2008), this series provides information on funding and infrastructure for immunology, special projects, and people, places and events. It also provides an opportunity for readers to compare and contrast the familiar scene in their own regions with that of other places. Commentaries now scheduled or under consideration survey the scene in India, the Middle East, Argentina, Russia and South Africa, and, in the current issue, Xuetao Cao discusses immunology in China (Nat. Immun. 9, 339-342; 2008).

The commentaries will not cover immunology comprehensively, but will present a few well chosen places—and well-chosen authors—to provide insight into new projects, ideas and concerns. In the words of the Editorial: “We hope that these commentaries, which will appear periodically over the next year or so, will enrich understanding of the familiar and the not-so-familiar in the world of immunology.”