Elizabeth Blackburn

Elizabeth Blackburn Elizabeth Helen Blackburn (born 26 November 1948 in Hobart, Tasmania) is an Australian-American molecular and cellular biologist, microbiologist, enzymologist, physiologist, bioethicist, and former president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. With Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak, she shared the 2006 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research and the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Quotes Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes in cells. Chromosomes carry the genetic information. Telomeres are buffers. They are like the tips of shoelaces. If you lose the tips, the ends start fraying.Telomerase is an enzyme. In cells, it restores the length of the telomeres when they get worn. As the ends of the chromosomes wear down, the telomerase comes in and builds them back up.In humans, the thing is that as we mature, our telomeres slowly wear down. So the question has always been: did that matter? Well, more and more, it seems like it matters. …In my lab, we’re finding that psychological stress actually ages cells, which can be seen when you measure the wearing down of the tips of the chromosomes, those telomeres. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/science/03conv.html Finding Clues to Aging in the Fraying Tips of Chromosomes 3 July 2007 The New York Times (interview by Claudia Dreifus) There is a general trend for longer telomeres among married people or those with partners. But we have also studied women who were formerly in relationships where they were Domestic violence domestically abused. Their telomeres were shorter, and the amount they were shorter related quantitatively to the number of years they were in the relationship. It probably relates to the stress of being in a threatening situation for a long period of time. One preliminary study has suggested having children may help telomere health but it has not yet been independently repeated, so it is early days. Elizabeth Blackburn on the telomere effect: ‘It’s about keeping healthier for longer’ The Guardian 29 January 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/29/telomere-effect-elizabeth-blackburn-nobel-prize-medicine-chromosomes (interview by Zoé Corbyn) Telomerase is the enzyme that replenishes telomeres. In humans, we now know that a proper “Goldilocks” balance of telomerase is needed. Too much telomerase action in some of our cells can tip the balance over into real risks for cancers. So, it is imperative not to be tempted to stray into misguided over-use of, for example, unproven substances that claim to increase telomere maintenance. In contrast, we have learned—by directly studying humans—what works safely for telomere maintenance.Luckily there is a great deal that we individually and as a society can do to improve telomere health safely: getting enough sleep and exercise, finding and learning ways to cope with chronic psychological stressors, Mediterranean diet Mediterranean-diet-type eating habits, various forms of social improvements, unpolluted environments—they all add up. These good influences on telomere maintenance are things that are actionable right now and do not increase cancer risks. The Habits That Can Help You Live Longer 16 November 2018 Milken Institute https://milkeninstitute.org/content-hub/collections/articles/habits-can-help-you-live-longer I think we really have to rethink how we imagine careers for women in science, because the current way is very much a One size fits all one-size-fits-all kind of career structure — in which, if people deviate from a completely full-time model with a certain sort of trajectory, then they are regarded as … not functioning properly as scientists … Elizabeth Blackburn Interview: A Scientist’s Path to the Nobel Prize September 15, 2023 Life Stories, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC46NnUIFTo&t=1065s (quote at 17:45 of 50:49 in video) External links Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:Biologists from Australia Category:Biologists from the United States Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Category:Fellows of the Royal Society Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine Category:Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Category:People from Tasmania Category:Physiologists Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty Category:University of Cambridge alumni Category:University of Melbourne alumni Category:Women academics from Australia Category:Women academics from the United States Category:Women Nobel laureates Category:Women scientists from Australia Category:Women scientists from the United States