The key to keeping our cells healthy may be down to the enzyme telomerase. In this video we cover how telomerase helps maintain telomere length in our cells, and how this influences how our bodies age, and why we develop diseases like cancer. Over time, with each cell division, telomeres shorten. When telomeres are too […]
What are telomeres? Telomeres are protective caps, found at the ends of our chromosomes. This is the first in a short series of videos where we explore telomeres, telomere length and telomerase, as well as the impact they have on our health and aging. Telomeres are thought to play a major role in aging by […]
Telomeres shorten as we age and the risk of cancer increases as we get older; here we explore some ways telomeres affect cancer risk. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and with rates of many cancers increasing year on year, it is a priority research area in terms of improving understanding, diagnosis and […]
Telomerase is an enzyme whose main function is the maintenance of telomeres. Here we examine what the purpose of telomerase is and the impact when it doesn’t work as it should. What is telomerase? Telomeres are the protective caps found at the end of our chromosomes and they act by preventing damage or fusion with […]
A decade ago, it was announced that a Nobel Prize was being awarded to researchers for the discovery of “how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase”. Ten years on, we reflect on this win and the impact it has had on the field of telomere research. A Nobel Prize win It was […]