Long-sought structure of telomerase paves way for new drugs for aging, cancer

Telomerase, because of its role in cancer and aging, has long been a target of drug companies who want to block it to stop the uncontrolled cell growth characteristic of cancer, or boost it to create a fountain of youth. The structure of the enzyme complex has been a mystery, however, until now. Scientists have finally obtained a detailed picture of the architecture of the RNA-protein complex, a breakthrough for drug design.