Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (NSMB) is a forum for studies that advance our understanding of fundamental processes that govern the cell. We aim to publish original research articles that use robust experimental approaches across structural, molecular and cell biology, and which address important biological questions.

Together with the scientific advances reported in our pages, we also publish editorially commissioned content in the ‘Reviews & Analysis’ and ‘News & Comment’ sections of the journal. These include our comprehensive and authoritative Reviews and Perspectives, which offer a deep and timely analysis of topics of high interest to our community. Of note, Perspectives can be more opinionated than Reviews and we often encourage their authors to discuss the direction in which the field is evolving. Our Comments and Correspondences provide an outlet for scientists to reflect on science and issues surrounding research, presenting original and strong arguments in shorter formats. News & Views as well as Research Briefings offer approachable updates and additional context on recent advances reported in the pages of NSMB and beyond. Articles in our Reviews, News and Opinions sections are authored by scientists outside of the NSMB editorial team and are solicited and edited by the NSMB editors.

As a forum for our readers, we also aim to report on issues that concern the communities we serve and provide a stage for our readers, as it is at the core of our mission to represent our audience. To provide more varied ways and open discussions of interest and importance to our wide readership across structural, molecular and cell biology communities, we have recently adopted new content formats: World Views, Q&As and Viewpoints.

Science is an international endeavor, and many move abroad to pursue education and exciting research directions. In our first World View series, called ‘Returning home’, researchers who returned to their home countries to continue research after years of being away comment on the motivations and challenges, and reflect on the process of relocating back home to Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Czechia and Poland.

In our Q&As, we invite scientists for a conversation about their research and personal stories inside and outside of science. Our team spoke to Yael David and Charles Rice in a Q&A about recent research applying chromatin biology to understand hepatitis B virus infection. We also interviewed Francesca Mattiroli, who studies the dynamics of chromatin during DNA synthesis, and talked to Jerelle Joseph in a Q&A about the field of biomolecular condensates and how computational biology and molecular simulations can fuel discovery.

Lastly, we are introducing Viewpoints, which are collections of personal opinions around one central topic. In our first Viewpoint, we asked experts studying various facets of cell death to share their perspective on what they are most excited to tackle and what the field needs for progress.

We hope that these content types, new to NSMB, will enable us to provide a platform for all voices of the community and an outlet to comment on wider societal issues surrounding science. Research is the fruit of labor of a diverse group of scientists — their unique experiences inform their decision-making in both science and life and enrich the scientific output as a result. We aim to reflect this diversity in our pages.

We hope that you enjoy learning about the scientists represented in these new content types, their research paths, and their interests as well as the broader discussions of research fields and how science is done. We thank you, our community, for working with us to develop these articles. Thank you for sharing your unique perspectives and experiences with us and our readers. We are looking forward to working on more articles in the future and continuing to represent our readers in our pages.