On Telomerase
The latest article from SAGE Crossroads focuses on telomerase: "Like a next-door neighbor who turns out to be a spy, a protein once thought to mete out life span is doing a few surprising things inside its cellular home. Telomerase, a cellular operative made of protein and RNA, keeps chromosome ends from shrinking each time a cell divides. Researchers used to think that this erosion could drive organismal aging. Although this idea has largely fallen out of favor, many scientists hold that corroding telomeres might hasten the demise of tissues and organs ... Now, a clutch of studies reveals that telomerase's talents go beyond replenishing the far reaches of our chromosomes and might include stimulating stem cells to replace tissue."
Link: http://www.sagecrossroads.net/Default.aspx?TabID=28&newsType=ArticleView&articleId=133