The 2011 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award honors F. Ulrich Hartl and Arthur L. Horwich, for their "discoveries concerning the cell's protein-folding machinery, exemplified by cage-like structures that convert newly made proteins into their biologically active forms." We celebrate the award by presenting a collection of recent papers on chaperones and chaperonins published in NSMB.

The NSMB Web Focus on Measles Virus highlights current developments in our understanding of the interaction between the viral attachment protein MVH and its host cell receptor SLAM, and the conformational changes in MVH that trigger fusion of viral and cellular membranes. The Web Focus features a specially commissioned Commentary that puts these findings in context with previous studies on MVH and the attachment protein from other paramyxoviruses, published in our pages. This body of work is of interest to structural and molecular biologists, as well as virologists and clinical researchers.

Nature Structural & Molecular BiologyandNature Reviews Molecular Cell Biologyhave teamed up to present an in-depth joint Focus on Signal Integration, with specially commissioned Reviews in each journal. These articles consider some of the key approaches used to study signaling networks, and discuss how various signals are integrated in different cellular contexts.

Since initial observations indicating that small RNAs can mediate silencing, this phenomenon has come to be recognized as a key means of gene regulation, participating in a variety of processes across species. Still, research into small RNA-mediated regulation and the scope of this regulation, as well as its role in disease, continues to yield new insights and surprises. The NSMB Web Focus on RNA silencing comprises a core collection encompassing a specially commissioned Perspective and recently published Research Articles covering a range of current topics in the field. The broader Nature Research library brings together additional recent advances in the field published at NSMB and other Nature journals.

Viral infections have an obvious impact on their hosts. Besides the considerable toll they can cause on host health, viruses have also influenced evolution, exerting selective pressure and shaping host defense pathways. And they have become part of us, as endogenous retroviruses and derived sequences. In this special web Focus on Virology, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, we present one Review and highlight recent research articles revealing how viruses bind and enter their hosts, the defense mechanisms mounted by the cell and organism, and how viruses evade or even subvert these responses. Altogether, this body of work offers insights into the complex relationship between viruses and hosts and has important implications for drug development.

To be functional, most proteins need to reach their correct three-dimensional structure, through a process called folding. Defects in protein folding can lead to protein aggregation or degradation and are associated with several pathological conditions. To bring readers up to date on the basic concepts and the latest developments in the field, Nature Structural & Molecular Biologypresents a focus issue on 'Protein Folding', with four commissioned Reviews and two Perspectives.

Splicing describes the removal of introns from pre-mRNAs to form mRNAs and is carried out by a large complex, the spliceosome. This processing can have a profound effect on the regulation and number of gene products encoded by the genome. In addition, mutations in key components of the splicing machinery, as well as dysfunction of alternative splicing regulators, have been associated with disease. This focus compiles recent papers that have elucidated the organization, structure and regulation of spliceosomal components, thus shedding light on the mechanistic heart of splicing, whereas the broader Nature Research library highlights recent insights into splicing and the regulation and impact of alternative splicing. As part of the NSMB Focus on Splicing, we present Splice Talk, interviews with Reinhard Lührmann, Andrew MacMillan and Christine Guthrie about their recent research and splicing more generally

The 2009 Nobel Prizes celebrated research on telomeres and ribosomes. Telomeres cap the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes and are maintained by telomerase activity. The study of telomere biology, pioneered by the Nobel Prize recipients Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak, has given insights into aging and cancer. The ribosome is a widely conserved macromolecular complex that translates mRNA with exquisite fidelity and the Nobel committee recognized key contributions to this field from Venki Ramakrishnan, Tom Steitz and Ada Yonath. Structural and functional work from many labs has given us unprecedented insight into the inner workings of a biological machine, how it is regulated and how it can be targeted specifically by antibiotics

The fusion of biological membranes is a controlled process that occurs when two closely apposed membrane compartments are brought together so that their contents can be mixed. Membrane fusion is critical for communication between membrane-bound compartments in eukaryotic cells and is essential for host cell infection by enveloped viruses. This special focus on membrane fusion, comprised of an Essay and five Reviews, describes fundamental fusion processes and the interactions that regulate them.

In eukaryotes, the packaging of DNA by histones into chromatin has profound effects on transcription and other nuclear processes. Far from being a uniform set of 'beads on a string', chromatin structure is remodeled and even modified, altering the accessibility of packaged genes to the factors involved in their regulation. This special focus on chromatin features an Overview, six Reviews and a Perspective that describe how chromatin is built and subsequently altered at various structural levels, and the impact of these events on fundamental biological processes involving DNA.

Ion channels play important roles in a variety of processes in almost all cells, from sensing membrane pressure to neurotransmission. Since the first structure of a potassium channel was reported nearly 10 years ago, improvements in methods have provided us with additional high-resolution views of ion channels, which have informed and guided mechanistic studies. This focus highlights emerging insights into these important molecules obtained from the most current structural and functional studies. The library of Nature Research articles compiles recent work in the ion channel field

Milestones in Gene Expression is a collaborative project involving six journals - Nature,Nature Cell Biology,Nature Genetics,Nature Reviews Genetics,Nature Reviews Molecular Cell BiologyandNature Structural & Molecular Biology- and celebrates almost 50 years of discoveries in the field of transcription and chromatin.