Cover: Schematic representation of the hybrid formed between a molecular beacon (white atoms) linked to a tRNA transcript (green atoms) and the molecular beacon's target sequence in an mRNA (blue atoms). The molecular beacon undergoes a conformational reorganization when it hybridizes to the mRNA that separates a quencher from a fluorophore, resulting in a bright fluorescence signal. The presence of the tRNA transcript on the end of the molecular beacon enables the probe to remain in the cytoplasm of living cells. For further details, see the paper by Mhlanga et al. in this issue: Nucleic Acids Res. (2005), 33, 1902–1912. The art work was created by the artist Kenneth Eward.
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