“And what part is that?”
Lawton glanced at the screen with a hint of apprehension. “Telomeres, sir.”
Langford watched Clay and Borger look at each other. “What’s a telomere?” he asked.
“Telomeres are nucleotide sequences that reside at the end of each of our cell’s chromosomes. They act as a sort of ‘cap’ to prevent problems when DNA is replicated. For example, during cell division, when chromosomes are replicated, it’s the telomere caps that protect against accidental mutation or fusion with each other. Every chromosome has them, and the telomeres grow slightly shorter with each new replication.”
Lawson continued. “About fifteen years before their discovery, a man named Hayflick discovered that there was a finite limit to these cellular divisions, after which the cells would simply stop replicating and die. It’s called the ‘Hayflick Limit.’ Telomeres were discovered to literally be the switch behind the Hayflick Limit. Telomeres grow shorter and shorter with each replication until they reach a critical point. That point or limit is the switch, which disables the ability for cells and chromosomes to replicate any further. It’s the point that we humans refer to as ‘old age.’ ”
“Over the last few decades, researchers have been trying to find ways to turn that switch off. To allow the cells to continue replicating. As it currently stands, all cell types, except for one, have these limits which force them to die and subsequently brings on the terminal decline of old age.”
The room became quiet while everyone digested Lawton’s explanation. Kathryn Lokke was the first to lean forward and speak. “You said there was one type of cell that didn’t have these limits?”
“That’s right,” Lawton nodded. “But it’s not that the cell doesn’t have a limit. It’s that its switch has been turned off. In other words, their telomeres don’t grow shorter as they are supposed to. This allows the cells to continue dividing indefinitely to a point of immortalization.” She paused and took a short breath. “I’m talking about cancer cells.”
Everyone looked at Lawton with a startled expression as she continued.
“Cancer cells have DNA that has been damaged through a process of mutation, a process that we still don’t understand. But it allows the cells to live for an extremely long time. In fact, there is one infamous line of cancer cells that never die.”
“You’re talking about the HeLa cells,” Borger said.
“That’s right,” Lawton nodded. “The HeLa cells are named after a woman named Henrietta Lacks. She died of cancer but not before her doctor took a biopsy from her cancerous tumor. It turned out to be one of the most surprising discoveries in the field of cytology. The cells from her tumor simply won’t die. In virtually any environment, they continued to replicate indefinitely. They are still alive today and are the most widely distributed cell culture in history. There was an interesting book written on the subject not too long ago.”
“Okay,” Miller said, peering into his camera. “So what does this have to do with Clay’s plant?”
“Well, not surprisingly, the behavior in cancer cells has captured the imaginations of many researchers around the world. If telomeres can somehow be intentionally deactivated to allow cell replication to continue, perhaps they can achieve what cancer cells have already managed to do: perpetual cell replication, but this time in healthy cells.”
Miller frowned, thoughtfully. “You mean, as in stopping diseases?”
“No, sir,” Lawton replied simply. “I mean as in stopping the aging process itself.”
Everyone on-screen and in the room stared at Lawton, frozen. Everyone except Borger.
Neely Lawton waited for questions but receiving none, continued again. “For some time, scientists have been trying to find a way to turn off the automatic shortening of telomeres when they replicate. Or, perhaps as in the process of telomerase, to re-lengthen them. Researchers are getting closer, but ultimately telomerase is an interventionist approach. The holy grail would be something much more holistic.” She turned and looked at Clay. “Enter Commander Clay’s plant.”
Lawton reached out to her laptop. “The plant sample Mr. Clay delivered may provide the answer. On the screen is a picture of the plant we received.” She typed a command on the keyboard and a second picture appeared on the screen. “And this is the same plant now. Less than forty-eight hours later.”
“Oh, my god,” mumbled Langford.
Lokke was equally stunned. “That’s the same plant?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lawton replied. Forcing herself to stay calm, she clicked a button and enhanced both images. “As you can see, the second picture of the plant is noticeably larger than the first.”
“Unbelievable.”
Lawton couldn’t help but grin. “This plant is the first one I’ve ever seen with the same telomere disabling properties that cancer cells have. But unlike cancer cells, it doesn’t kill the host.”
“And that’s why it’s growing?” asked Lokke.
“Actually, no.” The excitement in Lawton’s voice was now obvious. “There is something even more exciting about this plant. Not only are the telomeres disabled but, somewhere in the gene sequence, the replication schedule is wildly accelerated. This means that not only does it not have a Hayflick Limit… its genetic code is programmed to replicate much faster than that of a normal plant cell. You can see this in the picture. Not only is the torn leaf regenerating itself, but it’s actually in the process of re-growing a new stem and root system!”
This time even Borger was surprised. “Whoa!”
“I take it this never happens either,” Miller asked, rhetorically.
“Actually it does, sir. Just not this fast. Many known plant types can propagate into a new plant. But not this fast and they don’t regenerate their missing parts. In fact, if I had to guess, I would estimate that Commander Clay’s plant here will regrow itself entirely in a couple weeks, maybe less.”
Langford stared at the pictures on his screen for a long time. “So that’s what the Chinese have found.”
“And why they’ve been so secretive,” added Miller.
Lawton nodded. “You can all see now why I deemed this call urgent.”
“Commander Lawton,” Clay spoke up. “What would you say are the scientific ramifications of this?”
She took a deep breath and shook her head, considering the question. “Generally speaking, I’d say pretty darn big. As far as I know, the characteristics of this plant are something no one else has seen anywhere else on the planet. I mean just the speed at which its cells are replicating make cancer cells look slow. Theoretically, if this process can be harnessed or replicated, or even somehow distilled, I cannot even begin to imagine its possibilities. Reversing disease is one thing, but the ability to completely arrest the aging process at the cellular level is… well,” she shrugged, “into the realm of fantasy.”
“Jesus,” Langford muttered, leaning forward into his hand.
Kathryn Lokke cleared her throat. “Ms. Lawton, I know you said you haven’t had time yet to fully examine or test this sample. Is there any chance at all that we’re wrong here? I mean the picture obviously speaks for itself, but is there any chance that we’ve misdiagnosed what’s causing this?”
“Yes, there could be other factors,” Lawton nodded. “But given the tests we’ve already run, I would be very surprised to find another explanation. What is far more important, however, is the possibility of whether these chromosomal attributes can be crossbred with other plants. Which I bet is exactly what the Chinese are thinking. If so, that is one enormous game changer!”