Built from a natural protein domain, it binds gently and reversibly, highlighting damage without interfering with repair. The tool works in organisms as well, enabling studies of when and where DNA breaks form. Its accuracy and ease of use could boost medical research and cancer therapy development.

Relentless DNA Damage and Its Consequences
DNA inside each cell faces constant harm from sources such as sunlight, chemicals, radiation, and even the normal activities that keep our bodies functioning. Most of the time, cells repair this damage almost immediately. When those repairs do not work as they should, the resulting problems can contribute to aging, cancer, and a range of other illnesses.

Until recently, researchers struggled to watch these repair events unfold in real time. Many techniques required destroying and preserving cells at different stages, which only provided isolated snapshots rather than a full view of the process.

🌐 Video of eGFP in Action
This footage shows the fluorescent sensors in action inside a living cell. They appear as bright green spots the moment they bind to sites of DNA damage. Credit: Richard Cardoso Da Silva

A New Live-Cell DNA Damage Sensor Emerges
Scientists at Utrecht University have now created a tool that changes this limitation. Their new DNA damage sensor makes it possible to track damage as it appears and fades inside living cells and even within living organisms. The work, published today (November 20) in Nature Communications, opens the door to research that could not be done before.