The shock absorbers of biology Kevin Verstrepen and his team on buffer proteins and the genetic variation they mask A recent Nature news feature dives into how buffer proteins can protect us from harmful mutations and how that could inspire new drugs. We asked Kevin Verstrepen, as one of the experts quoted in the piece, and team members Mo Tawfeeq, Karin Voordeckers, Hala Kasmo, and Iris Goeminne, to tell us more about what buffering really is and why it matters for disease and evolution. Let’s...