All of the following are true about thymine dimers EXCEPT: the type of repair that is done to fix them is called nucleotide excision repair they are caused by UV radiation damage that fuses thymines that are next to each other on the same strand individuals with xeroderma pigmentosa (XP) are unable to repair this type of DNA damage, leading to cancer cell development they are caused by UV radiation damage to thymines that are opposite each other on different DNA strands