To identify whether synchronization of p53 pulses through periodic DSB induction was theoretically feasible (Fig. 1A), we used a mathematical model of the p53 DSB response calibrated using MCF-7 breast cancer cells (Mönke et al, 2017) (Fig. 1B) to simulate repeated DSB induction through the radiomimetic drug NCS and analyzed the subsequent p53 response. Here, TP53 is linked to breast cancer.