There
are a few famous scientists who actually study molecular biology. Mostly they
study a field like genetics and use molecular biology techniques in their
research. Elizabeth Blackburn is one of the few who’s field is molecular
biology. She is originally from Tasmania, Australia and is currently teaching
at the University of California San Francisco. For her PhD, she worked on
researching the mysteries of DNA. There were still many things to be discovered
about DNA in the 1970s. Elizabeth was absolutely captivated with DNA. She wanted
to know everything about it. At the time, people understood that DNA was
contained in tightly bound chromosomes, but the structure was still somewhat of
a mystery.
Elizabeth
focused on the ends of the chromosomes and discovered the makeup of these ends
in 1980. The ends of chromosomes are made of telomeres. Telomeres are
essentially segments of repeating DNA sequences. Those sequences didn’t encode
for any RNA or protein. So what was their purpose? Why would chromosomes
deliberately create non-coding repeating sequences? Telomeres are actually extremely
important segments in chromosomes. Whenever a cell divides, a small part of the
DNA ends is snipped off. The telomeres protect essential DNA sequences from
being cut off curing cell division. With parts of the telomeres cut off, the
DNA can express efficiently. Elizabeth’s discovery helped us understand the
aging process better. As we get older, our telomeres get shorter, which leads
to problems such as Alzheimer’s and cancer. A few years after discovering
telomeres, Elizabeth also co-discovered telomerase with Carol Greider. Telomerase
is responsible for keeping telomeres at an appropriate length. Too long or too
short telomeres both result in issues that can seriously affect one’s health.
For her contributions, Elizabeth was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in
Physiology or Medicine in 2009. Elizabeth’s work has opened doors to research
not only in DNA, but also in medicine, cancer research, and research of the
ageing process.
Sources
Ignotofsky,
Rachel. “Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World.” N.p.: Ten
Speed Press Publishing, n.d. Print.
"Elizabeth
H. Blackburn - Facts". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 9 Sep
2016. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2009/blackburn-facts.html
“What
Is a Telomere?" Yourgenome.org. The Public Engagement Team at the Wellcome
Genome Campus, 2016. Web. 09
Sept. 2016.
http://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-a-telomere
You stated that having telomeres that are too long or too short can affect one's health. I understand how having them be too short as segments of DNA could be lost. However, what are ramifications of telomeres being too long?
ReplyDeleteToo long telomeres, while not as common as too short telomeres, still pose a problem. It has been shown that too long telomeres can increase the risk of getting cancer. What essentially happens is that telomerase (the enzyme that regulates telomere length) becomes unregulated, leading to an unusually lengthy telomere. These too long telomeres have been seen to cause cancer cells to become almost immortal. Regular cell death is normal, but when we have cells that never seem to die, it can cause problems.
ReplyDeleteFor more information on lengthy telomeres, click on the links below.
http://www.yeastgenome.org/not-too-long-not-too-short
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/aging-too-much-telomerase-can-be-as-bad-as-too-little/
https://www.umcg.nl/EN/Research/ERIBA/Documents/Publications/Chang/1868-503X.pdf
I liked that this reminded me about the importance of telomeres I'm curious though, how does this discovery about the telomeres could assist with cancer research?
ReplyDeleteI finally got a chance to reply to your comment Lauren! A dysfunctional telomerase is usually the cause of telomere induced cancer. This typically leaves the cancer cell "immortal." Using this knowledge, we can determine where the cancer cells began to form. We can also use this knowledge to target cancer cell telomeres. If the cancer cell telomeres are severely shortened, it could lead to programmed cell death.
DeleteI've always been fascinated with the topic of senescence. I did a project in undergrad on cryonic preservation of whole humans until a cure for aging is found and they can figure out a way for successful reanimation. Here's a link for one of the facilities in the US doing this: http://www.alcor.org/. It's really interesting if you look into it with an open mind. You might have inspired what I will write for my next post!
ReplyDeleteI had the same question as Chris, I wasn't too sure how the long strands would affect one's health. It was interesting to know that her research led to the discovery of the ageing process and further that of Alzheimer. It's a topic that hit home seeing as my grandmother passed away less than a year ago from the complications that come with Alzheimers.
ReplyDeleteWhat? An important scientist who isn't a dead, white man?
ReplyDeleteThis is refreshing. Women haven't historically gotten the credit that they're due in most of the sciences, and IMO, molecular biology has been one of the worst in this respect (a reading of Watkin's "The Double Helix", for example is just replete with sexism and dudebroishness)...Well articulated answers to Chris' question about telomeres and health, and my favorite...multiple sources. Keep it up.