telomere
noun
telo·mere
| \ ˈte-lə-ˌmir
, ˈtē-
\
, ˈtē-
\
Definition of telomere
: the natural end of a eukaryotic chromosome composed of a usually repetitive DNA sequence and serving to stabilize the chromosome
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Examples of telomere in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One difference involves the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, known as telomeres. — Bill Ingalls, National Geographic, "One-of-a-kind study of astronaut twins hints at spaceflight’s health effects," 11 Apr. 2019 A year in space caused Scott's carotid artery to thicken, DNA damage, gene expression changes, a thickening of the retina, shifts in gut microbes, reduced cognitive abilities and a structural change at the ends of chromosomes called telomeres. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "What it takes to be an astronaut: the real 'right stuff'," 17 June 2019 When the telomeres were repositioned to the nuclear periphery, cell division ground almost to a halt. — Quanta Magazine, "In the Nucleus, Genes’ Activity Might Depend on Their Location," 6 Nov. 2018 Scott's telomeres became significantly longer in space. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "The First Results From NASA's Historic Twin Study Are Here," 11 Apr. 2019 The first is at each of their two ends, where there's a structure called a telomere. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Gene editing crunches an organism’s genome into single, giant DNA molecule," 3 Aug. 2018 Practitioners measure things like telomeres—the protective caps on chromosomes that supposedly reveal one’s biological age—to locate the source of an ailment or those last stubborn pounds. — Jancee Dunn, Vogue, "The Future of Dieting Is Here—And it Has Nothing to do With Calorie Counting," 29 Oct. 2018 Still, blank spots remain at the ends of chromosomes (called telomeres), as well as at the axis points where the two arms of a chromosome meet (called centromeres). — Kyle Peterson, WSJ, "Cracking the Code of Life—at Light Speed," 27 Apr. 2018 The only thing protecting our genes are the endcaps, called telomeres. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Get Their First Look at the Enzyme That Could Help Battle Aging," 27 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'telomere.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for telomere
telomere
noun
telo·mere
| \ ˈtel-ə-ˌmi(ə)r
, ˈtēl-
\
, ˈtēl-
\
Medical Definition of telomere
: the natural end of a eukaryotic chromosome composed of a usually repetitive DNA sequence and serving to stabilize the chromosome
Other Words from telomere
telomeric
\ ˌtel-ə-ˈmer-ik
\
adjective
\
adjective