The "garbage" at the end protects against cancer. It prevents cells from multiplying uncontrollably (and accumulating mutations in the process) by shortening t

The "garbage" at the end protects against cancer. It prevents cells from multiplying uncontrollably (and accumulating mutations in the process) by shortening the fuse at each generation. There's a hierarchy with stem cells at the top that live long, rarely divide, and have few mutations, and the children of the children ... of their children at the bottom divide often, but have a short fuse and a limited lifetime, so they don't keep accumulating mutations as much