Telomeres are necessary for a cell to divide.

VOA: special.2009.10.07

It was a gene that was causing a cell to be malignant and to divide without control, for example.

例如,一个会使细胞恶化,并不受控制地无限分裂的基因

耶鲁公开课 - 生物医学工程探索课程节选

There is a maximum number of times that a human cell can divide (roughly 50) before it dies.

ECONOMIST: The latest from the wacky world of anti-senescence therapy

Like a key in a lock, EGF binds to a receptor on a cell's surface, sending off a signal to the cell to divide, grow and die.

FORBES: A Homegrown Pipeline

When they shrink beyond a certain point, that cell can no longer divide.

ECONOMIST: Ageing