These ‘Master’ Proteins Protect Us From Deadly Mutations — and Could Inspire New Drugs

A June 17, 2026 Nature News Feature by Philip Ball on the biology of "genetic buffering" — the cellular machinery, especially molecular chaperones such as Hsp90, that masks the effects of potentially deadly gene mutations by helping misfolded proteins behave as if they were normal. The piece walks through how researchers are now mapping these master proteins, why buffering shapes the speed and direction of evolution, and how disabling it selectively might become a new strategy for cancer drugs.