More than 30 years ago, when University of California, Berkeley researchers discovered telomerase -- an enzyme that lengthens chromosome ends and prevents them from fraying enough to kill a cell -- speculation ran wild about its role in aging and cancer, setting off a full-court press to produce drugs to activate or block the enzyme.
While neither telomerase-based anti-aging drugs, touted as a "fountain of youth," nor anticancer drugs have yet appeared, the publication today by UC Berkeley scientists of the first detailed picture of the molecular structure of human telomerase should jump-start that effort, allowing more targeted drug screens and intelligent design of new drugs.
"It has been a long time coming. It took a lot of persistence," said Kathleen Collins, a UC Berkeley professor of molecular and cell biology who has worked on the enzyme for 26 years.
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