Scientists discover the enzyme that lets cancer rapidly rewire its DNA

Scientists at the University of California San Diego have identified the enzyme responsible for chromothripsis, a dramatic genetic event in which a chromosome breaks into many fragments and is stitched back together in the wrong order. This chaotic reshuffling allows cancer cells to evolve quickly and develop resistance to treatment. Although chromothripsis was first recognized more than ten years ago as a major force in cancer progression, researchers had not known what actually s...