Keiko Hiyama
Editor

2009

Telomerase, an enzyme that elongates telomeres and endows eukaryotic cells with immortality, was first discovered in Tetrahymena in 1985 and studied among basic scientists in the 1980s. In the 1990s, it was proven that this enzyme also plays a key role in the development of human cancers and many clinical researchers became involved in this field, and in the twenty-first century, telomeres and telomerase are becoming key factors in “stem cell” research including cancer stem cells, regenerative medicine, and congenital diseases with “stem cell dysfunction.”