The immortal DNA theory proposed that when a stem cell divides the cell that will later specialize inherits the potentially imperfect copied DNA, while the stem cell retains the original "immortal" DNA strand.

When it was proposed three decades ago it has remained a controversial hypothesis until 2006 when scientists from the Pasteur Institute in Paris demonstrated it to be valid. The leading scientist Shahragim Tajbakhshis explained that it "seems to defy one of the basic rules of cell biology and genetics: that genetic material is distributed randomly. It appears that the cellular machinery distinguishes old from new when it comes to DNA, and it may use this distinction to protect the body from mutations and cancer. It is also possible that this mechanism is used to silence gene expression in the stem cell." Stem cells contain immortal DNA

See also

• DNA
• Stem cell

References