It has been brought to light wonderful discoveries of cellular immortality, which are based on the existence of enzymes responsible for maintaining the protection of chromosomes which are present in the nucleus of cells, where all the genetic information of each individual is and that defines from the chemical point of view who we are, forming the hereditary material that is transmitted to the new generations and is encoded in the chain composed of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
All this information is there, in our chromosomes, and a continuous duplication of cells occurs during our life, when some die, others replace them, through the process of cell division called mitosis, deriving two new cells from each precursor cell, in addition to the DNA being replicated and transmitted, which is fundamental to achieve cellular immortality.
The problem arises when people advance in age and most of their cells do not continue to replicate by mitosis since a small part of the end of the DNA chain is lost in each cell division in which an end called telomere acts and which is a kind of protective stick of chromosomes responsible for leading the process, and when it loses size or disappears, mitosis can no longer occur, then the cell dies and no longer generates new cells, happening what scientists call apoptosis.
Telomeres are fundamental pillars to achieve cellular immortality and in the process of programming the cells since they fulfil the function of preventing the cells from reproducing when DNA replication is wearing down the basic coding information of the genes, in addition to preventing the ends of the chromosomes from fusing, becoming an indispensable tool to stop the multiplication of cells that contain genetic mutations or irreversible damage.
Therefore, if scientifically it will be possible to find the way or method for the cells to develop new telomeres and to ensure that the process of cell division or mitosis could continue indefinitely, without stopping, human beings would not die, we would be immortal. It may sound like science fiction, but decades ago the scientific evidence that we have today could be considered as fiction, unreal things.
In this way, cellular immortality has found scientific basis in the repair function of telomeres, which can be repaired through an enzyme called “telomerase”, which is known as the immortalizing enzyme first identified by Carol Greide and Elizabeth Blackburn in 1985.
This enzyme is only observed in cells that reproduce naturally and indefinitely as, for example, in the process of intestinal lining and hemocytoblasts, in the cells that produce the ovules and sperm cells, and in the cancer cells, so it causes harmful tumours to appear due to the continuous growth of cancer cells.
These findings have worked as the basis for further scientific research that tries to demonstrate and achieve cellular immortality, such as those carried out in 1997 by different research groups, which cloned the gene that activates telomerase in human cells, obtaining resounding success and giving way to new discoveries and scientific advances around this topic.
Investigations have continued and discoveries have followed. Thus, in 2002, the well-known Science Magazine published an article in its edition of March 29 of that year which explains the results of investigations that concluded that there is a close relationship between the enzyme “telomerase” and the aging and cancer process by demonstrating that by introducing a cloned gene it is possible to extend the period of multiplication of human cells, discovering that mutations that reduce telomerase activity cause symptoms of diseases of premature aging.
All this series of discoveries show great future possibilities, based on the premise that it could be possible to elaborate processes of drugs that could inhibit telomerase as part of a possible cancer treatment, as well as the activation of this important enzyme with the aim of preventing or slowing the aging process, thus achieving the much desired cellular immortality.
For these reasons, when the scientific community is looking for ways that cancer cells are not fatal, it would be providing sources of health and life, and it could be the first step towards real cellular immortality until it is found the perfect formula for eternal molecular youth, which would include the possibility that new telomeres through telomerase are the key to fighting against aging and disease.
These principles start from the basis that how much older a person is, the shorter telomeres are, and their critical loss is what activates the inability of cells to remain alive, so the challenge is to find a way to stop this process. Imagine the change the world would have, considering that the human being has always pursued immortality.
ALFA