October 5, 2009

experts comment on the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009

This year’s prize was won by three American researchers – Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak – for their discovery of how the body protects the genetic code from damage with age – through specialised proteins called telomeres and an associated enzyme, telomerase.

Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council, said:

“The Medical Research Council extends its congratulations to Blackburn, Greider and Szostak on winning the 2009 Nobel Prize. Their research on chromosomes helped lay the foundations of future work on cancer, stem cells and even human ageing, research areas that continue to be of huge importance to the scientists MRC funds and to the many people who will ultimately benefit from the discoveries they make.”

Dr Chris Tyler-Smith, Head of Human Evolution team, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said:

“The DNA molecule in most chromosomes is linear, but does not just come to an end at some arbitrary point: that would be an unstable break. There is a special structure, called the telomere, to stabilize the end of the DNA and allow it to replicate. The discovery of this structure and its implications provide wonderful examples of the way science works. Telomere structure was first uncovered in an obscure unicellular protozoan called Tetrahymena, and this information has since allowed us to do things that range from making artificial chromosomes to understanding more about cancer and aging: basic biological research at its best.”

Dr Thomas J. Vulliamy, Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology, Queen Mary, University of London, said:

“I was thrilled to hear that Elizabeth Blackburn and her colleagues Jack Szostak and Carol Greider have been so highly recognised. Because it was their work that has opened up the whole field of telomere biology, with all its promise for cancer cures and prolonging lifespan. But closer to home, it has been important for us in helping to explain how a debilitating inherited disease, which worsens in each generation, comes about through impaired telomere maintenance.”