Telomeres shorten because we have linear chromosomes and it is physically impossible to replicate them without losing a bit off the ends (because in order to extend strand 1, you need to template off strand 2, so the end of strand 2 can&#x27;t be copied).<p>The telomere is a solution to this problem; you just pad the ends of your chromosomes with useless repetitive sequence so if you do lose a bit while replicating it doesn&#x27;t matter. Any anti tumor properties of this system are an ancillary benefit.