CRISPR is like the bodyguard of bacteria, protecting them against invaders like viruses. Some nomadic pieces of DNA have figured out how to use this system to move themselves around. In a recent study published in Cell, Michael Schmitz from the Lab of Martin Jinek at the University of Zurich (Switzerland) shed light on the structural basis for how this Type V CRISPR-associated transposon complex assembles. Learn how the host cell's ribosomal subunit kept the team awake at night and why structural biology is more relevant than ever in the age of alphafold2.