Thumbnails:
List:
Year:
Category:
Session:
Poster:
Getting poster data...
Marzia Munafo (EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory) – Epigenetics and Neurobiology Unit, Via Ramarini 32, 00015, Monterotondo (Rome), Italy)
Cancer genomes can be very chaotic and making sense of Chromosomal INstability (CIN) signatures, which can have diverse causes and consequences, is no trivial task. By analysing thousands of tumour samples, a recent study (Drews et al, 2022; Nature) was able to decode messy cancer copy number profiles into 17 signatures that characterize specific types of CIN. These signatures provide insights into the putative causes of CIN, predict drug response and identify new drug targets. This illustration is a creative representation of this pivotal work that shines light onto CIN signatures. Each window pane is a copy number profile but only when light comes through the glass you can see a clear picture emerging from the reflection. Starting from the back, windows that do not get much light cast chaotic and uncoordinated shadows. In the middle, a little more light passes through and some sense begins to emerge from the shadows. Finally, fully illuminated windows cast a clear picture of a broken DNA helix - exemplifying DNA damage, one of the identified molecular processes.