Elizabeth Blackburn is perhaps best known for her work on telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that gradually erode as we age, and for co-discovering the enzyme telomerase. She's now studying whether certain lifestyle interventions can promote telomere repair.
An excellent article in this weekend's San Francisco Chronicle outlines this new line of research--and provides a nice profile of Blackburn, her career path, and her dual role as scientist and mother. I like this quote from her husband: "There is no question that one of the nice features of Liz is that she's shown young women scientists that you can make it and also have a family, that it's not one or the other, and that it's fun. You go home at night and feel like there are some interesting new ideas, even after you've been doing it for 30 years."
An excellent article in this weekend's San Francisco Chronicle outlines this new line of research--and provides a nice profile of Blackburn, her career path, and her dual role as scientist and mother. I like this quote from her husband: "There is no question that one of the nice features of Liz is that she's shown young women scientists that you can make it and also have a family, that it's not one or the other, and that it's fun. You go home at night and feel like there are some interesting new ideas, even after you've been doing it for 30 years."
