In the last 2 years, the pioneers of mammalian cloning, including the creator of Dolly, Sir Ian Wilmut, and the amazing Ryuzo Yanagimachi and Mark Westhusin, passed away. Their passing marks the end of an era, the end of the early stages of a reproductive technology that today continues its unstoppable development. We thank Dr. Eli Adashi for co-authoring our note dedicated to Wilmut, Yamaginachi, and Westhusin [1].

Our journal, as other scientific publications, follows the literature on endocrine-disrupting chemicals. There have been outstanding reviews on the subject [2]. From obesity, metabolic syndrome, and the microbiome to reproduction, neuroendocrinology, and oncogenesis, chemical disruptors are everywhere [3, 4]. In this issue of HORMONES, we host two articles on the effects of bisphenol A on metabolism [5] and sexual health [6]. It should be mentioned that not all bisphenols are “bad”: curcumin, a molecule with many beneficial effects, is a small biphenolic molecule. Yet even the multiple effects of curcumin, a “good” compound, clearly demonstrate the potency of bisphenols that seem to be capable of disrupting endocrine signaling in all tissues and thus have profound effects on our health and endocrine (patho-) physiology. We welcome more submissions on endocrine disruptors, a subject that is destined to attract ever more attention in the years to come.

When exosomes were discovered, their applications, from pathophysiology of disease to drug delivery [7], could not have been foreseen. Indeed, today they are being explored in many conditions. In diabetes, exosomes have been investigated as a potential cause of the disease, and this is reviewed in this issue [8]. There are several other articles on all types of diabetes [9,10,11,12,13,14], including an instructive report on how difficult the diagnosis of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) can be, exemplified by the diagnosis of two adolescent boys with one of the most common genetic causes of MODY, an HFN1B mutation [14].

Metabolic syndrome often precedes the development of diabetes type 2. Spontaneous hypoglycemia may be an early sign of metabolic dysregulation, a sign of possible disease in otherwise healthy individuals [15]. Body adiposity, carotid intima thickness, and hepatic steatosis are all measures that are investigated in metabolic syndrome in three articles, respectively, in this issue [16,17,18].

Exercise is perhaps the most powerful means of preventing the development of metabolic syndrome and this topic is explored in one article reporting on the myokines measured in recreationally active males [19].

As in every issue, we also cover other areas of endocrinology, including reproductive [20, 21], pediatric [22, 23], neuroendocrinological [24], thyroid [25], calcium [26], and adrenal issues [27] as well as two interesting cases of genetic diseases with endocrine manifestations, von Hippel-Lindau disease [28] and a Silver-Russell-like syndrome [29].

Walter Hagen, the famous American golfer, wrote in his autobiography “The Walter Hagen Story” that we should not hurry and, instead, stop and smell all the roses along the way. I often feel this way when we compile every issue of HORMONES: our articles, each a rose, should be read carefully and enjoyed for the new knowledge it provides. I hope you feel likewise with this last issue of our journal for the year 2024. Enjoy!