The Unusual DNA Structures Driving Cancer: What Are G-Quadruplexes?

DNA is best known for its iconic double-helix structure, but it can also fold into alternative shapes known as G-quadruplexes (G4s). These unusual DNA and RNA structures are increasingly recognized as important regulators of gene expression, genome stability, and cancer biology.

Can naturally occurring G-quadruplexes (G4s) in the genome be used as molecular anchor points to selectively degrade proteins associated with G4-rich chromatin? This was the question addressed by Shankar Balasubramanian and colleagues in a landmark 2026 study published in Nature Chemistry. Rather than targeting G4 structures directly, the researchers asked whether G4s could serve as docking sites that guide the cell's protein degradation machinery to specific chromatin-associated proteins.

Our immune system faces a tricky balancing act every day. It needs to stay quiet enough to avoid attacking your own tissues, yet be ready to spring into action the moment a virus shows up. 

A new study published in Science Advances reveals that an RNA-unwinding protein called DHX36 sits at the heart of this balancing act, serving as a molecular dimmer switch for antiviral immunity. 

Millions of people worldwide live with metabolic syndrome; the cluster of conditions including obesity, high blood sugar, and insulin resistance that raises the risk of diabetes, fatty liver disease, and, less obviously, cancer. Scientists have long known the statistical link between metabolic disease and cancer, but the molecular "why" has remained frustratingly unclear. A new study from the University of Salzburg may have cracked open an important piece of that puzzle, and it involves some unusual structures in your DNA