Telomerase Ecstacy

After reading a recent Stanford University press release, I feel like I am about to swoon in scientific ecstasy over telomerase. 

This "intriguing workhorse" is a "behemoth" that "basic scientists" pursue with "avid interest" in an attempt to "get their hands on it" so they can find out "what it is".   

"Until now."

Apparently the writer has a very deep voice.  Maybe they could do the announcement for my next monster truck rally.  I bet they could belt out the "Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!" part really well.  I'd even be willing to foot the bill for some seizure-inducing flashes to get more attention.

Back to the science though: we now know what telemerase is!

Science actually knows quite a bit about it.  Telomers sit at each end of a chromosome, the elongated X-shaped thing that contains our DNA.  After cells divide a little chunk of the telomer disappears, aging the cells.  Old cells off-themselves so they don't pass on harmful mutations.

Telemerase is an enzyme that repairs damaged telomeres.  Cancer cells have telemerase, and normal cells don't (it vanishes shortly after birth) which is why cancer cells live forever.  A drug that blocks telemerase should help block cancer, or a drug that induces telemerase could extend life.

So what did Stanford scientists do?  "With gene in hand" and "many technical advances" the scientists "chopped the massive telomerase complex into tiny protein pieces," put them through a "sensative device that detected the pieces" and found two proteins in telomerase.  They disabled one protein using "genetic trickery" in petri dish cells and found out which gene produced the protein or proteins.

Photo: Phoenix