Accumulation of DNA breaks can cause aging, cancer, and Motor Neurone Disease (MND). But a novel toolkit discovered could help repair DNA breaks caused deliberately during chemotherapy treatment to kill cancerous cells. The research shows that a protein called TEX264, together with other enzymes, is able to recognize and ‘eat’ toxic proteins that can stick to DNA and cause it to become damaged. An accumulation of broken, damaged DNA can cause cellular aging, cancer and neurological diseases such as MND. Until now, ways of repairing this sort of DNA damage have been poorly understood, but scientists hope to exploit this novel repair toolkit of proteins to protect us from aging, cancer and neurological disease. The findings could also have implications for chemotherapy, which deliberately causes breaks in DNA when trying to kill cancerous cells. Scientists believe targeting the TEX264 protein may offer a new way to treat cancer. The Neuroscience Institute aims to translate scientific discoveries from the lab into pioneering treatments that will benefit patients living with neurodegenerative disorders.