On the Way to Controlling Telomerase
Researchers are making progress in figuring how to control telomerase, and through it influence telomeres, cancer, and aging. From EurekAlert!: researchers "have deciphered the structure of the active region of telomerase, an enzyme that plays a major role in the development of nearly all human cancers. The landmark achievement opens the door to the creation of new, broadly effective cancer drugs, as well as anti-aging therapies. ... Researchers have attempted for more than a decade to find drugs that shut down telomerase - widely considered the No. 1 target for the development of new cancer treatments - but have been hampered in large part by a lack of knowledge of the enzyme's structure. The findings [should] help researchers in their efforts to design effective telomerase inhibitors ... Telomerase is an ideal target for chemotherapy because it is active in almost all human tumors, but inactive in most normal cells. That means a drug that deactivates telomerase would likely work against all cancers, with few side effects." Long-term deactivation will cause massive issues, of course, but that's not the intent for the moment. Given new information about telomerase and mitochondria in aging, there are potentially more interesting end results than good cancer therapies.
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/twi-lso082608.php