Using 3-D electron microscopy, structural biologists from the University of Zurich succeeded in elucidating the architecture of the lamina of the cell nucleus at molecular resolution for the first time. This scaffold stabilizes the cell nucleus in higher eukaryotes and is involved in organizing, activating and duplicating the genetic material. Diseases such as muscular dystrophy and premature aging, caused by mutations in the lamin gene, the major constituent of the lamina, can now be studied more effectively.