Speculative Fact #276: DNA Repair Technique Revealed

The 2015 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been recently awarded to a trio of scientists for discovering how DNA damage gets repaired. The four nucleotides (ATCG) that make up DNA base pairs can be affected by a variety of environmental factors, even sunlight (i.e. UV radiation). Over time these various factors can break up a base pair, cause changes to DNA, and lead to diseases like cancer.
         The researchers found a bacterial enzyme that, like an editor, finds and corrects things like nucleotides converting to a different letter. The process, known as DNA mismatch repair, is a bit complex but is now better understood.
           In the future a combination of technology and targeted repair could render diseases like cancer a thing of the past. The characters in your story might discover they have cancer and get “cured” in a single sitting. Virtual immunity? Virtual immortality?
 
-Jonathan Hernandez

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