On Aug. 15, 2024, researchers from from Western University announced they had discovered a protein that has the never-before-seen ability to stop DNA damage in its tracks. The finding could provide the foundation for developing everything from vaccines against cancer, to crops that can withstand the increasingly harsh growing conditions brought on by climate change.

The researchers found the protein—called DdrC (for DNA Damage Repair Protein C)—in a fairly common bacterium called Deinococcus radiodurans (D. radiodurans), which has the uncommon ability to survive conditions that damage DNA—for example, 5,000 to 10,000 times the radiation that would kill a regular human cell. The finding has potential for developing everything from vaccines against cancer, to crops that can withstand the increasingly harsh growing conditions.

“The Canadian Light Source was instrumental in that,” says Szabla. “It’s the most powerful X-ray source in Canada.” The group’s findings were published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research.