The name caught my attention, so I did a google search and found this on wikipedia

"A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA sequence at the end of a chromosome, which protects the end of the chromosome from deterioration or from fusion with neighbouring chromosomes. Its name is derived from the Greek nouns telos (τέλος) "end" and merοs (μέρος, root: μερ-) "part". The telomere regions deter the degradation of genes near the ends of chromosomes by allowing for the shortening of chromosome ends, which necessarily occurs during chromosome replication."

Well that's ominous...

I just had to reply on this topic just because I was curious as to how they used telomere in the manga... Is it the name of a character? Did they use the term correctly? And if they did, that's friggin' awesome... Bonus points if they mention enzymes like telomerase...

within the manga Telomere refers to

a terrorist group

| One Punch Man | Noblesse | Nanatsu no Taizai | Gun x Clover |

Quote from Sakuya

within the manga Telomere refers to

a terrorist group

A terrorist group that is targeting true blooded vampires

So yeah... Ominous.

But telomeres (in a biological sense) are good for you. You love telomeres... without them... our DNA would get shorter and shorter with each replication round to the point where important genes are gone (mutated, deleted, etc...) So telomeres aren't ominous... Telomeres are your stable best friends!!

But the terrorist group hunting true-blooded vampires in the manga... see... I'm trying to figure out why the mangaka would name this terrorist group after a useful, protective, repetitive sequence of DNA...

Quote from hobbitelf518

But telomeres (in a biological sense) are good for you. You love telomeres... without them... our DNA would get shorter and shorter with each replication round to the point where important genes are gone (mutated, deleted, etc...) So telomeres aren't ominous... Telomeres are your stable best friends!!

But the terrorist group hunting true-blooded vampires in the manga... see... I'm trying to figure out why the mangaka would name this terrorist group after a useful, protective, repetitive sequence of DNA...

Agreed. But maybe, since vampires have eternal lives (if they're not attacked), they have eternal telomerases to extend their telomeres. With the terrorist group, perhaps telomeres are not extended (in normal circumstances), allowing the dividing cells (vampires) to reach the Hayflick limit and eventually dying out once they reach senescence, so they are placing a cap on vampire reproduction, so to say?

Or perhaps outright trying to end it.

Quote from kawaiiusagichan

But maybe, since vampires have eternal lives (if they're not attacked), they have eternal telomerases to extend their telomeres. With the terrorist group, perhaps telomeres are not extended (in normal circumstances), allowing the dividing cells (vampires) to reach the Hayflick limit and eventually dying out once they reach senescence, so they are placing a cap on vampire reproduction, so to say?

See... you're my biology study buddy! I like your explanation!! What I mean is... wouldn't it be more fitting if the terrorist group were named "senescence" or "Hayflick" or something to do with damage or limitations? Or, maybe our mangaka is using it out of irony... which brings this to a whole new level (and my respect for the mangaka).

Anyways, thanks @EmptyEternity for the OP and kawaiiusagichan for your insightful input! ♥

Quote from hobbitelf518

Quote from kawaiiusagichan

But maybe, since vampires have eternal lives (if they're not attacked), they have eternal telomerases to extend their telomeres. With the terrorist group, perhaps telomeres are not extended (in normal circumstances), allowing the dividing cells (vampires) to reach the Hayflick limit and eventually dying out once they reach senescence, so they are placing a cap on vampire reproduction, so to say?

See... you're my biology study buddy! I like your explanation!! What I mean is... wouldn't it be more fitting if the terrorist group were named "senescence" or "Hayflick" or something to do with damage or limitations? Or, maybe our mangaka is using it out of irony... which brings this to a whole new level (and my respect for the mangaka).

Anyways, thanks @EmptyEternity for the OP and kawaiiusagichan for your insightful input! ♥

Hooray! Biology buddy! I love biology! Yeah, I completely agree with you. When I saw telomere I thought, 'HUH? Why telomeres?'

I love your naming sense! I would put in all my votes for naming the terrorist group 'Apoptosis' though. XD

Quote from kawaiiusagichan

Hooray! Biology buddy! I love biology! Yeah, I completely agree with you. When I saw telomere I thought, 'HUH? Why telomeres?'

I love your naming sense! I would put in all my votes for naming the terrorist group 'Apoptosis' though. XD

looooooooool... More like "Necrosis."

Speaking of "Apoptosis"... how do you pronounce it? "Ay-POH-toe-sis" or "Ay-POP-toe-sis"? XD

Hahaha, i love necrosis too, the natural partner to apoptosis!

I usually pronounce it using the latter pronunciation. Giving it the 'pop' sound is part of the charm. XD