Telomeres are the tips of chromosomes.
Telomere is a term that is not part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ). The concept is used in the field of biology with reference to the tips of chromosomes .
Telomeres are the areas that provide stability to the structure of the chromosomes and that allow the development of cell segmentation . These are repetitive sectors that present non-coding DNA . In this sense, it must be clarified that the chromosome houses two types of DNA . Coding DNA is that which presents the information that proteins are responsible for encoding. This DNA is dispersed in the so-called non-coding DNA . Telomeres have this last DNA , the non-coding one.
Telomere functions
There are many and varied functions that cells perform and in a large number of these activities telomeres play a very important role. Specifically, we can say that they are related to the following:
- Mitosis and meiosis.
- The maintenance of chromosome stability.
- The development and aging of the tissues that an organism has.
Thanks to telomeres, chromosomes do not adhere to each other , something that has great relevance in cellular life. Telomeres, on the other hand, contribute to the pairing of homologous chromosomes in meiosis , more precisely in prophase .
Telomeres fulfill various functions.
Your discovery
The American Hermann Joseph Muller was the one who, in the first decades of the 20th century , noticed the existence of telomeres. The advancement of knowledge of molecular genetics has allowed us to increase knowledge regarding these components of chromosomes. In 2009 , three scientists won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering telomerase : an enzyme responsible for synthesizing telomeres.
Since telomeres were discovered, endless research and studies have been developed around them. Among the most curious is one carried out by researchers from Tel Aviv University , specifically from the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology , which has established that there are certain drinks that, when drunk, significantly influence these elements.
The result of the work carried out by these professionals has been that beer lengthens telomeres while all drinks that have caffeine shorten them. A discovery that adds to other ideas we have on the matter, such as that stress is responsible for shortening them in the same way.
Telomeres in different diseases
It is important to mention that various theories linked to oncogenesis (studies on the processes that lead to the development of cancer ) and aging affirm that telomeres determine the number of cell divisions that occur until the death of the cell.
In addition to cancer, we cannot ignore that another disease in which telomerase becomes the protagonist because it registers a notable deficiency is AIDS .