Blog Post Image: How a Shape-shifting DNA-repair Machine Fights Cancer

One protein complex, two very different shapes and functions: In the top image, the scientists created an Mre11-Rad50 mutation that speeds up hydrolysis, yielding an open state that favors a high-fidelity way to repair DNA. In the bottom image, the scientists slowed down hydrolysis, resulting in a closed ATP-bound state that favors low-fidelity DNA repair. (Image credit: Tainer lab)