Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 09 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01905-5Chill factor

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 08 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01904-6Manipulating rRNA levels with CRISPR

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 08 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01904-6Manipulating rRNA levels with CRISPR

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 06 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01896-3We describe a proximity-based imaging strategy for tracking glycosylated RNAs (glycoRNAs) on the surface of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and find that vesicle subtypes and cellular states are characterized by distinct glycoRNA signatures. We also demonstrate that in addition to being EV cargo, glycoRNAs contribute to intercellular communication by mediating EV uptake.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 06 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01896-3We describe a proximity-based imaging strategy for tracking glycosylated RNAs (glycoRNAs) on the surface of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and find that vesicle subtypes and cellular states are characterized by distinct glycoRNA signatures. We also demonstrate that in addition to being EV cargo, glycoRNAs contribute to intercellular communication by mediating EV uptake.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 02 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01895-4Single-molecule imaging reveals diverse, megabase-scale heterochromatin domains in C. elegans. Some resemble TADs and depend on condensin I; others are independent of condensin and histone H3K9me, including one domain that encloses the 5S rDNA locus.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 02 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01895-4Single-molecule imaging reveals diverse, megabase-scale heterochromatin domains in C. elegans. Some resemble TADs and depend on condensin I; others are independent of condensin and histone H3K9me, including one domain that encloses the 5S rDNA locus.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 30 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01898-1Advances in phosphoproteomics enable systems-wide mapping of phosphorylation, but translating these data into functional signaling networks remains challenging. A deep human cell-line phosphoproteome atlas infers kinase activity, enabling systematic network mapping and identification of actionable kinase vulnerabilities for precision therapies.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 30 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01877-6Koenig et al. present a phosphoproteome atlas of 33 human cell lines covering >200,000 phosphosites, advancing cellular kinase activity scoring and drug sensitivity prediction, providing a resource for cell signaling insights and precision oncology.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 30 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01898-1Advances in phosphoproteomics enable systems-wide mapping of phosphorylation, but translating these data into functional signaling networks remains challenging. A deep human cell-line phosphoproteome atlas infers kinase activity, enabling systematic network mapping and identification of actionable kinase vulnerabilities for precision therapies.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 30 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01877-6Koenig et al. present a phosphoproteome atlas of 33 human cell lines covering >200,000 phosphosites, advancing cellular kinase activity scoring and drug sensitivity prediction, providing a resource for cell signaling insights and precision oncology.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 29 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01886-5In this Review, Wu, Rashid et al. discuss how mechanical signals regulate the ability of cells to facilitate and maintain changes in cell memory. They exemplify these effects in cellular structure remodeling and epigenetic regulation.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 29 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01886-5In this Review, Wu, Rashid et al. discuss how mechanical signals regulate the ability of cells to facilitate and maintain changes in cell memory. They exemplify these effects in cellular structure remodeling and epigenetic regulation.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 28 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01889-2The authors use selective ribosome profiling, cryo-ET and site-specific photocrosslinking to show how the ER membrane protein complex (EMC) cooperates with ribosome-bound translocons to facilitate multipass membrane protein biogenesis in human cells.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 28 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01897-2The authors expand the extracellular vesicle glycosylated RNA (glycoRNA) landscape and reveal distinct glycoRNA profiles across extracellular vesicle (EV) subtypes, cell types and passage numbers. They also show that glycoRNAs are not only EV cargoes but also regulators of EV uptake, uncovering a layer of vesicle-mediated communication.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 28 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01871-yLu and Du et al. show that HERC4 E3 ligase ubiquitinates S166-phosphorylated RIPK1 to initiate prodeath complex assembly and TNF-induced cell death, acting as the pivotal prodeath switch and that loss of HERC4 protects mice from TNF-driven inflammation and liver injury.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 28 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01889-2The authors use selective ribosome profiling, cryo-ET and site-specific photocrosslinking to show how the ER membrane protein complex (EMC) cooperates with ribosome-bound translocons to facilitate multipass membrane protein biogenesis in human cells.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 28 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01897-2The authors expand the extracellular vesicle glycosylated RNA (glycoRNA) landscape and reveal distinct glycoRNA profiles across extracellular vesicle (EV) subtypes, cell types and passage numbers. They also show that glycoRNAs are not only EV cargoes but also regulators of EV uptake, uncovering a layer of vesicle-mediated communication.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 28 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01871-yLu and Du et al. show that HERC4 E3 ligase ubiquitinates S166-phosphorylated RIPK1 to initiate prodeath complex assembly and TNF-induced cell death, acting as the pivotal prodeath switch and that loss of HERC4 protects mice from TNF-driven inflammation and liver injury.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 22 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01880-xThe lumen geometry and chemistry of a protein nanopore govern its ion-conduction properties. Rather than redesigning an entire pore assembly, or mutating a naturally occurring pore, we built on the bacterial CsgG nanopore scaffold with an integral de novo component, which yielded semisynthetic conducting pores with programmed architecture and distinct ion-conduction profiles, including rectifying behavior.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 22 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01880-xThe lumen geometry and chemistry of a protein nanopore govern its ion-conduction properties. Rather than redesigning an entire pore assembly, or mutating a naturally occurring pore, we built on the bacterial CsgG nanopore scaffold with an integral de novo component, which yielded semisynthetic conducting pores with programmed architecture and distinct ion-conduction profiles, including rectifying behavior.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 21 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01881-wSchnaider et al. develop a protein design strategy for building a new component within a confined, symmetric pore. Cryo-EM confirms the designed lumen architecture, while electrical recordings reveal distinct and tunable current rectification.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 21 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01881-wSchnaider et al. develop a protein design strategy for building a new component within a confined, symmetric pore. Cryo-EM confirms the designed lumen architecture, while electrical recordings reveal distinct and tunable current rectification.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 17 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01899-0The ATR–ATRIP kinase complex safeguards genome integrity by coordinating cellular responses to DNA damage and replication stress. Two recent cryo-EM studies resolve the structural basis of ATR–ATRIP activation, capturing distinct active states of the kinase and clarifying how its activity is stimulated by TOPBP1 and ETAA1.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 17 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01887-4Wang et al. present cryo-electron microscopy structures of ATR–ATRIP complexes in distinct functional states, revealing ATP-dependent and TopBP1-dependent mechanisms of kinase activation and how ATR inhibitors exploit ATP-binding pocket flexibility for selective inhibition.