Muscle damage is a common side effect of radiation therapy for cancer treatment, and is made worse because the very stem cells responsible for repairing injured muscles typically bear the brunt of radiation damage.

Now UC San Francisco researchers have discovered a new type of stem cell in mouse muscles that is resistant to radiation and other forms of cellular stress. The findings have implications for improving recovery for cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy and could even lead to treatments to protect future astronauts from the ravages of deep-space radiation.

UC San Francisco cancer biologist Alan Ashworth, PhD, structural biologist Yifan Cheng, PhD, and molecular physiologist Holly Ingraham, PhD, have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.