Loss of shelterin components TRF2 or POT1a-TPP1 complex from the chromosome end triggers DNA damage response (DDR) and aberrant DNA repair events. In a recent Nature paper, Chang and colleagues reported that the DNA repair protein Mre11 contributes to multiple events at the uncapped telomere, including ataxia telangiectasia-mutated (ATM)-dependent signaling, processing of the telomeric G-tail and homologous recombination (HR).