Among cancers, scientists have spent their entire research careers looking for cellular similarities that may lead to a single cure for many cancers 鈥撯 the rare chance to have a single answer to a multifaceted problem. In 1997, scientists discovered a gene that they believed was the key to cellular immortality. Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase, or TERT, is a catalytic piece of telomerase, and while cellular immortality sounds like a good idea, it is actually how cancerous tumors grow and proliferate in cancer patients. In a recent paper published in Science, Tom Cech, director of the BioFrontiers Institute , worked with collaborators at CU's Anschutz Medical Campus to study mutations in bladder cancer that may lead to better treatments for many types of cancers.