billcoffin.com

Telomerase also known as ‘The immortality Gene’ is a relatively new scientific discovery that has recently been making the headlines. Telomerase is an enzyme originally discovered by Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn while researching possible treatments for cancer. She noticed that there was high levels of this particular enzyme present in cancerous cells and realized that they were the main reason why cancerous cells could healthily multiply themselves an infinite number of times. This enzyme is not only found in Cancer cells, but is also present in our regular cells and are a vital component for healthy growth. So what exactly is Telomerase and why does our body need it? This enzyme is vital for the continual growth and duplication of our body’s cells. All cells have the ability to divide into other cells in a process of growth, though, regular cells can only divide a certain number of times before they either lose this ability or deteriorate and die. Each cell in our bodies contain chromosomes, which are blue prints controlling the specific characteristics of each cell. Every time a cell divides into a copy of it self, some of this information is lost in the process. To stop this and protect our chromosomes tiny caps or lids form at each end, these are called telomere. The job of the telomerase enzyme is to help our cells produce and maintain these telomeres, which in turn help the cells divide into healthy copies of themselves. Unfortunately, each time our cells multiple, small amounts of this information is lost in the process; and the telomere begin to shorten in length. This means that our cells are limited to a certain number of reproductions before they die. When we are children our bodies produce a good supply of telomerase, but through the process of growth we lose this ability and cells inevitably die. Some scientists knowledgeable in this field of study claim that they can estimate a person’s lifespan by measuring the size of their cell telomeres.So what is the benefit of telomerase enzymes for people?  Scientists now realize that this discovery is a massive medical breakthrough. Telomeres basically control our aging process if we could develop some way of slowing down the speed at which telomeres shrink, then we will be able to significantly extend our lifespan. There have been good results recorded in trials using laboratory-synthesized telomerase on mice to see how it effects the rate at which telomeres shrink. Besides the possibility of producing anti-aging medicines telomerase could be the key to a possible cure for cancer. Cancer cells are labeled ‘immortal’ because they can multiply an infinite number of times without deterioration. They do this as a result of having high levels of telomerase and how they make effective use of this enzyme. If scientists can produce a medicine that will stop the production of telomerase in cancer cells, it would be the first ever cure for cancer.