FIRST STEP IN DNA REPAIR: This bright pink chain is actually a strand of DNA coated by RecA protein, one of an alphabet soup of proteins involved in the complicated task of cutting and pasting DNA in the process known as homologous genetic recombination. The image was captured by a technique known as atomic force microscopy, which uses a tiny tip to scan the surface, much like a phonograph needle scans across a record. Working in the lab of microbiology professor Stephen Kowalczykowski, graduate student Joel Brockman aims to compare the structure of this bacterial protein with similar proteins found in people and other organisms to better understand how it contributes to the repair of DNA damage.