Home▸Molecular Biology▸Telomerase and the End-Replication Problem: Why Chromosomes Have Caps

🧬 Telomerase and the End-Replication Problem: Why Chromosomes Have Caps

Explore why DNA polymerase cannot fully copy the ends of linear chromosomes, how telomeres shorten with each cell division, and how the enzyme telomerase counters this to shape aging and cancer.

Molecular Biology3DModerate60 FPS

This simulation demonstrates how the end-replication problem causes telomeres to shorten with successive cell divisions, and how telomerase activity can counteract that shortening to delay or prevent the Hayflick limit.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

🎮 How to Use

Adjust the division rate and telomerase activity level to watch telomere length change over successive divisions, and observe when the cell reaches senescence under different conditions.

💡 Did You Know?

Leonard Hayflick's discovery that cells have a finite division limit overturned the long-held belief that cells cultured outside the body could divide forever, reshaping how scientists understand aging at the cellular level.

⚙ Under the hood

Explore why DNA polymerase cannot fully copy the ends of linear chromosomes, how telomeres shorten with each cell division, and how the enzyme telomerase counters this to shape aging and cancer.

biologygeneticstelomerestelomeraseagingcancercell-divisionmolecular-biology

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install