For me, arguably the story of telomeres and telomerase began thousands of years ago, in the cornfields of the Maya highlands of Central America. Elizabeth Blackburn agoamericaarguably Change image and share on social
I decided I wanted to go to Cambridge, and then I got introduced to Fred Sanger. I was very conscientious, and I asked him when I first got there if I should start reading up on things. But he said, 'No, I think you can just start these experiments,' so I plunged right in. Elizabeth Blackburn askcambridgeconscientious share on social
We're collecting about 100,000 telomere lengths in saliva samples and then looking at how those relate to both the extensive longitudinal clinical records that Kaiser is collecting and the genome sequence variations. Elizabeth Blackburn 000clinicalcollect share on social
Observational studies show that exercise, nutritional supplements and reducing psychological stress can help. Chronic high stress and smoking can lead to accelerated telomere shortening. Elizabeth Blackburn acceleratechronicexercise Change image and share on social
This enzyme, called telomerase, slows the rate at which telomeres degrade, and research indicates that healthy people with longer telomeres have less risk of developing the common illnesses of aging - like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, which are three big killers today. Elizabeth Blackburn agingbigcall share on social
We're involved in a very large study that's federally funded and being done with Kaiser Permanente, and saliva is a very non-invasive way to get cells from the body. Elizabeth Blackburn bodycellfederally Change image and share on social
Challenges in medicine are moving from 'Treat the symptoms after the house is on fire' to 'Can we preserve the house intact?' Elizabeth Blackburn challengefirehouse Change image and share on social
At Cambridge, there was a completely unintimidating culture, and there were no class divisions among the students. Elizabeth Blackburn cambridgeclasscompletely Change image and share on social
The conservative statement is that telomere length is a biomarker, but it's probably not passive. There are some very intimate relationships between things such as molecular markers for inflammation and telomere health. Elizabeth Blackburn biomarkerconservativehealth share on social
One characteristic aspect of ageing is the increased susceptibility to disease, particularly age-related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Elizabeth Blackburn ageaspectcancer Change image and share on social
