I recently read an interesting article proposing a hypothesis of the ultimate function of what telomeres are to be. Intrinsically, it suggested that the telomeres caps were the actual chromosomal data and that the rest was elongated data in-use, such that shortening represents a loss of functional data (i.e. so the elongations would lose data, so eventually if no telomeres were left then no functional data would be present). So that was it -- telomeres were the base data of cellular functional data, for them to extract via amino acids/proteins. Thus, it suggests that telomeres elongation does not cause cancer -- it merely protects the data from damage. Thus, telomerase helps preserve the integrity of what data is remaining -- to preserve a stasis of division. The rest however, it suggested were lost but could potentially be recovered if the necessary compounds were applied that these functions needed -- i.e. much like how brains seemingly reconstruct memories/cognitive functions with small bits of data, cells would apparently do the same!
Edited by userx8, 30 January 2013 - 12:56 AM.