Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Holvec, S. et al. The structure of the human 80S ribosome at 1.9 Å resolution reveals the molecular role of chemical modifications and ions in RNA. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-024-01274-x (2024).