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Some people believe that telomerase could be the “fountain of youth”. Telomerase is not active in...

Some people believe that telomerase could be the “fountain of youth”. Telomerase is not active in all cells. What happens when telomerase is absent? Based on this, how could telomerase relate to aging?

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Telomeres are a stretch of DNA sequences present at the ends of the chromosomes which maintain the integrity of the chromosomes during every DNA replication. The enzyme which helps in the replication of these end sequences are called telomerase which adds TTAGGG sequences at the end of chromosomes after every replication to maintain the lengths of the telomeres constant. Telomerase is found in fetal cells and almost undetectable in the somatic cells. If the telomerase enzyme is totatlly absent in the cell, with every replication of the cell the end of chromosomes get shortened which will lead cells to undergo apoptosis.

The somatic cells lack telomerase due to which the cells age very soon due to the shortening of the telomeres as they divide. The telomerase is called fountain of youth because it keeps the cell immortal due to which the aging is delayed or extended.

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