Like prisoners tunneling out of jail, damaged DNA travels via tubelike structures between neighboring cells.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/damaged-dna-spread-nanotubes-cells-cancer
#relentlessdiscovery from @peterlylab.bsky.social 🧪
Had a fun conversation with @sciencenews.bsky.social about our recent findings. Thanks for covering our work!
DNA can voyage along intercellular highways called tunneling nanotubes. It’s a phenomenon that could potentially spread tumor DNA to healthy cells.
Proud milestone for our lab – Congrats to our first two graduate students, Lizz Maurais, PhD, and Justin Engel, PhD (@justeng95.bsky.social)!
We also celebrated Lizz’s last day as she moves on to an exciting new adventure. Good luck Lizz!
Video
Science News
🧵👇 for @peterlylab.bsky.social's deep-dive into the deets of his latest #relentlessdiscovery 🧪 worth a 🔖
Like prisoners tunneling out of jail, damaged DNA travels via tubelike structures between neighboring cells.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/damaged-dna-spread-nanotubes-cells-cancer
Peter Ly
Peter Ly
ONLINE NOW in @cellcellpress.bsky.social:
@peterlylab.bsky.social has discovered large pieces of DNA can transfer directly between human cells & that DNA can persist, change how the recipient cell functions. 🧪 Read more about this #relentlessdiscovery ⬇️ cri.utsw.edu
ONLINE NOW in @cellcellpress.bsky.social:
@peterlylab.bsky.social has discovered large pieces of DNA can transfer directly between human cells & that DNA can persist, change how the recipient cell functions. 🧪 Read more about this #relentlessdiscovery ⬇️ cri.utsw.edu
ONLINE now in @natcellbio.nature.com: Our newest PI @henrydebelly.bsky.social has published his postdoctoral work about Rac & Rho. Check out his 🧵⬇️ #relentlessdiscovery 🧪
#MotivationMonday another successful Ph.D. defense! Congrats to McBrayer Lab grad student Charley Edgar, (second from right). Dr. Edgar is headed back to medical school to finish up his M.D. Onward! #relentlessdiscovery 🧪
Children's Research Institute at UT Southwestern
Science News
Children’s Research Institute scientists discover that DNA transferred between cells can be inherited, remain biologically active DALLAS – May 19, 2026 – Scientists at Children’s Medical Center Resear...
Children’s Research Institute scientists discover that DNA transferred between cells can be inherited, remain biologically active DALLAS – May 19, 2026 – Scientists at Children’s Medical Center Resear...
Excited to share our latest paper! We found that large pieces of the human genome can transfer between cells upon direct contact, endowing recipient cells with heritable phenotypic changes. @cp-cell.bsky.social (1/7)
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
The Ly Lab is recruiting two #postdocs to study intercellular DNA transfer. Join us to tackle fundamental questions at the intersection of genome instability, cell-cell communication, and cancer evolution. Please share! 🙏
Full posting: cri.utsw.edu/careers/
Peter Ly
Peter Ly
Very excited to be sharing our new paper, just out in Nature Cell Biology!
The big question we investigate: How do migrating cells put their front 🔴 and back 🔵 in the right place?
New Online! DNA voyages through intercellular tunnels
Video
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, Published online: 08 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41580-026-00987-9This study shows that genomic DNA in the cytoplasm can transfer between mammalian cells through nanotube-like structures, integrate into the genome of recipient cells and support gene expression.
