Ancient Archaea microbe models human DNA

 
 
 
PULLMAN, Wash. – Cynthia Haseltine studies DNA and the repair of double-strand breaks. When improperly repaired by the body, these breaks can lead to cancers such as lymphoma and leukemia.
 
An assistant professor in the School of Molecular Biology at Washington State University, Haseltine is using an Archaean in her research – a unique organism that lives in some of the most hostile environments on Earth.