Spotlight on Telomeres

Three Americans -- two of whom are women -- have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for significant discoveries in the study of telomeres and telomerase, the enzyme that forms them -- discoveries which have turned out to play a critical role in the understanding of aging, cancer and some genetic diseases.

The three winners, Elizabeth H. Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco, Carol W. Greider of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Jack W. Szostak of Massachusetts General Hospital, will share the roughly $1.4 million in prize money.

Now, of course, significant discoveries in the prevention of cancer, the delay of aging and the potential treatment of genetic disorders are very welcome, but what the heck is a telomere and what does it have to do with me?

The short answer is that telomeres are the protective ends of chromosomes, the molecules of DNA strands that contain our genetic information. Think of them like the knots at the end of a rope that keep the rope from fraying -- or as one of the winning sicentists once described them -- the plastic tips on the ends of shoe laces.

Telomeres play a role in limiting how many times a cell can divide. Cells that divide without telomeres lose valuable chromosonal information and are more likely to develop abnormalities that can lead to cancerous cells. In the natural process of cell division, these ends get shorter, limiting the lifespan of cells and leaving them at greater risk. So you can imagine that finding a way to keep telomeres intact can go a long way toward fending off aging and preventing cancer.

In their research, the trio of scientists eventually uncovered how chromosomes can be copied during cell divisions without degradatin of the telomeres and how they are protected against degradation. The Nobel-worthy discoveries were made 20 years ago, but their critical role in cell biology hadn't been recognized until recently as scientists continued to build on that knowledge.

This is the first time a science Nobel has been awarded to more than one woman at the same time, and only the ninth and tenth women to ever receive a Nobel in this category.

Photo courtesy of jasealaska via Flickr.