RNA Damage Triggers Sunburn, Rewriting UV Skin-Damage Science

New research finds the first UVB skin response is RNA damage that activates the ZAK alpha–driven ribotoxic stress pathway, not DNA lesions, triggering inflammation and cell death; this upends decades of DNA-centered sunburn models and could reshape dermatology education, diagnostics, and drug development, though no ZAK alpha inhibitors are in trials yet.