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 Adam Ratliff
Our DNA suffers damage all the
time—from cosmic rays, exposure to chemicals, simple wear &
tear—and is constantly being repaired. But when something goes
wrong in the repair process, says WSU microbiologist Cynthia
Haseltine, “bad things happen.” Among the worst of those bad things
is lymphoma, a cancer of white blood cells.
In a series of four brief video clips
produced by Adam Ratliff and Cherie Winner for Washington State
Magazine Online, Haseltine describes how she’s working to
understand the process of DNA repair and the causes of lymphoma,
with the help of a microbe that has an unusual lifestyle and an
uncanny resemblance to Homo sapiens.
Click on any of the links to the
right, or click here to
view all four vignettes. Total duration: 9 1/2 minutes. File size:
130MB.
To read more about Haseltine's research, click here.
Washington State Magazine Home
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 Not
Just Any
Bug (2:47/38MB)
Archaea are
everywhere, yet until a
few years ago we didn’t know how special they are. Haseltine gives us a
quick introduction.
 Kin
Under the Skin (3:00/41MB)
The
way
Archaea repair their DNA is a
stripped-down version of the way our cells do it. Haseltine takes
advantage of that similarity, and the sturdiness of archaeal proteins,
to figure out how damaged DNA gets fixed.
 Top
Model (2:31/34MB)
How do you
study a
process that kills traditional lab
organisms? Haseltine explains why a sulfur-eating archaeal microbe is
her top choice for studying the mistakes in DNA repair that lead to
lymphomas and other cancers.
 “I
love my
job.” (1:15/17MB)
Haseltine
reveals
an essential
attribute for any scientist: a sense of wonder.
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