We report here experimental attempts to determine the sign of the electric dipole moment (relative to the electric octupole moment) in the octupole deformed nucleus 226Ra. Sensitivity to this quantity is observed in the measured yields of γ-ray transitions following very low energy Coulomb excitation. Recent progress is also reported in the development of new spectroscopic techniques that promise to elucidate the structure of deformed superheavy nuclei in the region of 254No. The 4+ → 2+ transition in 254No, as well as higher spin transitions, has been identified using recoil-tagged conversion electron spectroscopy.