Vampires are not immortal. But they are very long lived.
Vampires can live for hundreds, or maybe even thousands of years almost untouched by age and infirmity.
The secret is in a single gene which all humans possess, but is active only in pre-pubescent children... and adult Vampires.
The gene controls the production of a hormone called telomerase and telomerase is the key to virtual immortality.
In humans, as cells divide the chromosomes containing the DNA are replicated along with the rest of the cell. Each time this happens a portion of DNA on the end of the chromosomes called the telomere is lost. When the telomere is totaly worn away, usually after about fifty divisions, the DNA unravels and the cell dies.
In babies and small children a hormone called telomerase repairs the damage to the telomers allowing the cells to go on dividing long beyond the fifty division limit. Production of telomerase stops at puberty as the gene to produce it switches off for reasons as yet unknown and we begin to age.
Occasionally, children are born with a reduced ability to produce teleomerase which is one of the causes of the disorder Progeria. They rarely live past their tenth birthday
One of the most profound effects of the Vampire retro virus plasmids is to switch on the gene which controls the production of telemerase and to boost its effectiveness with a version of its own in the packet of genetic material that fuses with the host's chromosomes.
So as the Vampire lives, cell division can continue almost indefinitely allowing cell damage to be repaired effectively leading to increased resistance to disease, efficient healing and of course youthful appearance.
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