By Rami Major
Telomere
(noun. /TEE-luh-mere/)
What does it mean?
Our DNA is packaged and tightly wrapped up in chromosomes. To prevent our chromosomes from unraveling and to protect DNA from damage, chromosomes are capped by telomeres. Telomeres consists of repetitive DNA sequences that match up with special proteins.
How do I use it in a sentence?
Telomeres shorten as we age while they act as a barrier against DNA damage.
Telomeres are repetitive DNA segments located at the ends of chromosomes, shown in this diagram. Fancy Tapis / Shutterstock
Etymology
Telomere comes from the Greek “télos” meaning end, and “méros” meaning part.
