hazel wrote:
> I have a simple question. What does mTER-/- mean? Does it mean
> mouse telomerase something-or-other? What does the -/- mean?
The "m" stands for mouse. The "TER" (or sometimes "TR") stands for the
RNA (template) component of telomerase; "TERT" or "TRT" stands for the
protein (catalytic, reverse transcriptase) component. "-" stands for
"missing" (functionally -- either deleted, or mutated so that it
doesn't work). "-/-" stands for "missing both copies" -- we have two
copies of most of our genes, so if only one is missing there is usually
no effect.
Aubrey de Grey
