We treat viral antagonism as a discovery tool for host biology to reveal fundamental mechanisms of immune signaling and new opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

Transcription factors (TFs) differ in their ability to interact with nucleosomes, and most TFs need other TFs to locate their motifs in the human genome. Here, Xiao et al. show that two ELF2 proteins are able to unwind DNA from nucleosomes and access all of their motifs in the genome.

The bacteriophage ΦX174 was the first genome to be sequenced and the first to be chemically synthesised. Here we present a complete map of the consequences of changing every nucleotide in the ΦX174 ge...

Adenine base editors (ABEs) are CRISPR effectors that introduce A-T to G-C transitions in the genome using a nucleotide deaminase fused to a Cas protein. ABEs have been evolved to have very high editi...

Researchers used artificial intelligence to design functional CRISPR enzymes not seen in nature.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 18 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41594-026-01754-2This study shows how the bacterial retron Eco2 defends against viruses. Phage nucleases trigger activation of Eco2, which cuts RNAs, shuts down protein production and stops phage replication.

Across all domains of life, immune systems rely on nucleotide-based signaling molecules to activate defense responses. In a recent Cell Host & Microbe study, Doherty, Nomburg, and colleagues identify ...