51 Quotes by Elizabeth Blackburn

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.

In 2004, results from a study that I worked on with colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, linked chronic stress to shortening of telomeres.

What is it that keeps you so interested in the telomere? It's so intricate and complicated, and you want to know how it works.

Biology sometimes reveals its fundamental principles through what may seem at first to be arcane and bizarre.

I've only actively promoted what we always hope is good science.

If a test showed you had telomere shortening, it would be a red flag suggesting you should take a look at possible risk factors.

Perhaps arising from a fascination with animals, biology seemed the most interesting of sciences to me as a child.

Exercise mitigates the effects of stress - and stress, we know, shortens telomeres. In fact, early studies indicate that stress reduction techniques like meditation help people maintain the length of their telomeres.

The goal is to learn more about telomere length and other markers of ageing, how best to measure these markers, how they are related to health and lifestyle, and how people respond to learning their own telomere length results.