Scientists Discover Structure of DNA Repair Enzyme

A enzyme whose structure has been previously unknown to scientists has now been mapped by scientists at Duke University Medical center using a process called X-Ray Crystallography. Scientists have known for years that cells can remove and fix DNA errors, but how the process worked has until now eluded the scientists. The crystallography revealed an enzyme whose structure allowed it to recognize damaged DNA strands and repair them. This is just one of the multiple proteins that make up the DNA repair pathway, and scientists have yet to study the reactions of this particular protein with other proteins in the pathway. This opens up yet another way to combat cancer, with drugs repairing the repair pathway.

As you've probably noticed, many of my posts here are about cancer research, prevention, etc. I think it's amazing that it's possible to repair the DNA editing process, and the fact we have come so far in such a short time frame is stunning. The article states that 15-25% of sporadic tumors are caused when this pathway is malfunctioning, so if a drug were invented to fix this pathway it would stop the spread of cancer. If this discovery is matched with every other cancer-fighting discovery, we may have the cure to cancer in the next few years.
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2011/04/20/natures_elegant_solution_to_repairing_dna_in_cancer_other_conditions.html