Telomeres And Telomerase Explained

[mage lang=”en|es|fr|en” source=”flickr”]telomeres and telomerase explained[/mage]
Explain the basis for chromosomal shortening via successive rounds of DNA replication.?

Using the terms telomeres and telomerase.

My text book is not explaining it well.

heres some notes i recently took in my genetics lecture:
-telomeres may explain why we age
-they are short, repetitive sequences of nucelotides on the tips of chromosomes (a common one is TAGGG)
-the protect the ends of chromosomes during cell division
-they shorten with each cell division, chromosomes will accumulate damage and eventually the cells will stop dividing
-an enzyme, telomerase, extends telomeres
-telomerase activity is highest in germ cells, but lower in somatic cells (although the reason isn’t fully understood, it does increase the suspectibility to cancer)

mistakes happen during DNA replication/cell divison, chromosomes get bumped around, pulled apart etc. little parts simply break off over time! telomerase is an enzyme that repairs the telomeres.

telomere and telomerase