Sending out an SOS: How telomeres incriminate cells that can't divide

This microscope image shows chromosomes in human lung cells exhibiting telomere damage caused by colcemid, a drug that arrests cell division. The well-being of living cells requires specialized squads of proteins that maintain order. Degraders chew up worn-out proteins, recyclers wrap up damaged organelles, and-most importantly-DNA repair crews restitch anything that resembles a broken chromosome. If repair is impossible, the crew foreman calls in executioners to annihilate a cell. As unsavory as this last bunch sounds, failure to summon them is one aspect of what makes a cancer cell a cancer cell.

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