SNARE complexes prepare for membrane fusion.

According to a popular theory, the three presynaptic SNARE proteins (syntaxin 1, synaptobrevin 2 and SNAP-25) drive neuroexocytosis by forming a complex that forces vesicle and plasma membranes together. However, individual reactions in this process have been difficult to resolve. Now, two groups have succeeded in studying a very early and a very late step in the fusion process.