← 🧬 Molecular Biology

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

Telomere length:
Divisions: 0
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🧬 Telomerase and the End-Replication Problem: Why Chromosomes Have Caps

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

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.

🎮 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.