SITE VISIT: End of the Story
Science · 1998
The DNA stretches capping the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes known as “telomeres” are hot stuff in molecular biology right now, as they may hold secrets to aging and cancer. Telomeres are repeating series of base pairs that get shorter as a cell divides. Repairing these frayed ends is a tantalizing protein called telomerase, dubbed “The Immortality Enzyme” by Time magazine last year.