New research from USC Dornsife scientists reveals how cells fix dangerous DNA damage in hard-to-repair areas of the genome — a process that, when it goes wrong, can lead to cancer and other life-threating diseases. The researchers discovered that a protein called Nup98 helps coordinate DNA repair by moving broken genetic material out of densely packed regions where fixing it is more prone to errors. Nup98 forms liquid droplets around the damaged DNA, creating a protected space that keeps out the wrong repair tools and helps prevent harmful genetic mistakes. The findings offer new insight into how cells maintain genome stability and may help explain how certain mutations in Nup98 contribute to diseases like acute myeloid leukemia.

A new system enables a robot to “think ahead” and consider thousands of potential motion plans simultaneously, allowing the robot to solve a multistep problem in a few seconds.

Researchers led by a Rutgers University-New Brunswick astrophysicist, who looked deeply into space at a period known as “Cosmic Noon” about 2 billion to 3 billion years after the Big Bang, have found that a special class of galaxies were busy experiencing their first major burst of star formation.

The discovery is important, scientists said, because it will answer questions about how galaxies grow and evolve, providing key insights into the early stages of galaxy development and the overall history of the universe. 

A new way to 3D print complex structures recycles the material used for structural supports, significantly reducing the amount of waste generated.

Patients are being healed with a personalized treatment that repairs the patient’s specific genetic mutation. The treatment was created using a form of gene editing called base editing —a method created by UC San Diego’s Alexis Komor. Her latest research outlines the way certain DNA repair proteins can be manipulated to produce desired outcomes when using base editors.