Biologists at the University of Iowa have unraveled a second pathway by which cancer cells multiply without end. Using baker’s yeast as a model, the biologists explored Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres, a second pathway that cancer cells use to become immortal.
— Read on now.uiowa.edu/2021/03/biologists-unravel-pathway-cancer-cells-become-immortal
ME: Let’s get this straight — renegade Cancer cells become immortal, able to divide indefinitely. So, the immortal cell mutation could be guided or harnessed as an evolutionary pathway. (I think Star Trek already called this one as well.)
There seems to be a huge irony here that what people are trying to limit in “cancer” cells is exactly what other researchers are seeking to extend our lifespans and that is the lengthening of telomeres.
Above image from: https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2020/03/chemists-inhibit-a-critical-gear-of-cell-immortality/