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North American scientists have identified the gene for human telomerase. The findings could lead to the design of new drugs for cancer treatment. The studies show a strong link between the presence of the human ever shorter telomeres 2 gene (hEST2) and telomerase activity. Blocking the hEST2 expression could slow the growth of malignant tumours.

Bits of protective DNA on the ends of a cell's gene-harboring chromosomes have been shown to play a different and vital role in the life of a cell. The findings [...]

Research focused on a key marker of cell replication demonstrates that the immune cells of HIV infected patients age at an accelerated rate, suggesting an explanation for the eventual breakdown [...]

Hanover Medical School scientists in Germany reported positive results from research aimed at learning how to keep the length of telomeres in cloned embryos normal. The team, led by Heiner [...]

Researchers at the Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered that lack of telomeres accelerate certain effects of aging. Telomeres are small masses of nucleic acids which are at either end of the DNA strands and are formed during the development of the embryo. The study showed that mice which lack the gene that promotes telomere production lost their hair faster and had difficulties in recovering from surgery and chemotherapy than mice with normal telomeres.

Telomere shortening occurs during the development of hepatocellular carcinoma and can be seen in noncancerous liver tissues from patients with viral hepatitis, according to a report from Japan. 'The fact [...]

An 'immortalizing enzyme' known as telomerase is active in many different kinds of cancers and cancer cell lines, but is not found in the normal tissues from which those cancers [...]