Jack Szostak Telomerase Analysis

Great Essays
The 2009 Nobel prize for Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Drs Elizabeth Blackburn, Jack Szostak and Carol Greider for their discovery of telomeres and telomerases; but what are they and why did the Nobel prize committee find their discovery so important? Drs ezilabeth Blackburn, Jack Szostak and Carol Greiders discovery of telomeres and telomerases can be considered as one of the key milestones in our understanding of DNA replication in eukaryotes as they helped us figure out how the ends of linear chromosomes are replicated. There discovery of telomeres and telomerase did not only fil
A DNA molecule is made up of two strands of polynucleotides which can be described as anti-parallel meaning one strand is moving from a 3’ to 5’ direction
…show more content…
He subsequently named these ends telomeres and deduced that they not only protected the ends of the chromosomes but prevented them from fusing with other chromosomes. Scientist Elizabeth Blackburn further studies these telomeres on the single celled organism Tetrahymena thermophila and found that they contain a series of G repeats and which code for no particular gene. It was found that in humans this repeat sequence is TTAGGG and can be repeated anywhere between 100 and 1000 times. After each cycle of DNA replication , some of the telomere repeat sequence is lost at the 5’ end of the newly synthesized daughter strand however as these are non-coding sequences, their loss has no great effect on the cell.. however these sequences are not unlimited meaning after a certain number of DNA replication cycles all the repeat sequences of telomeres would be lost and the DNA would thus begin to lose coding sections of DNA. However this didn’t appear to occur and the discovery of the enzyme telomerase helped shine a light as to why this was not the …show more content…
Together they decided to couple DNA from Tetrahymena thermophila with linear chromosomes and this was then introduced into yeast cells. They found that the telomere DNA from Tetrahymena thermophile was able to protect chromosomes in the yeast cell showing clear evidence towards telomeres acting as mechanisms to protect the end of linear chromosomes. In 1984 further research on telomeres and their production was conducted by Carol Greider and Elizabeth Blackburn a cell extract from Tetrahymena thermophile was analysed for enzymic activity. This extract was then mixed with synthetic DNA primers and free nucleotides. They found that the DNA primer had been extended by a number of telomere sequence demonstrating enzymatic activity. This gave evidence towards telomeres being synthesised by an enzyme and they named this subsequent enzyme

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Bio 1010 Assignment 1

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages

    BIOL 1010 ASSIGNMENT 1 OCT 6 BY JORDAN KAPITANY ST 100883963 Among the many scientific achievements of the twentieth century in the field of bio-technology scientists Paul Berg, Herbert W Boyer, Stanley N Cohen and team for their research that lead the party to discover a technique of taking genes from one organism and inserting them into another organism, also more formally known as Deoxyribonucleic Acid or DNA recombinant technology. In 1971 Berg and team successfully isolated DNA of virus found in monkey's known as lambda then placed the genetic material into DNA sequence of a different simian virus called SV4O. This was done by first using a DNA enzyme, a naturally occurring molecule that has the unique chemicals properties to sever the bonds in the DNA sequence, from a very specific kind of…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Several Advancements in technology produced a fast DNA sequencer in the 70’s, and in 1983, Karv Mullis created what is called Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). PCR is a very simple and inexpensive technology that is used to amplify and produce large amounts of copies of a segment of DNA. Now this has become one of the most significant scientific advances in molecular biology, PCR amplification is used every day to diagnose diseases, its also used to identify bacteria and viruses, and to match criminals to crime scenes. PCR has revolutionized the study of DNA to such an extent that Dr. Mullis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993.…

    • 110 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The story of Henrietta Lacks is truly a unique story, grounded in family, hardship and scientific discovery. The story behind the “HeLa” cells and the family behind the woman who had “immortal cells” is very dramatic. Henrietta Lacks, a thirty-one year old black woman is diagnosed with cervical cancer that rapidly spreads. Stricken by poverty, Lacks family is unable to financially support her in treatment. The cancer soon overtakes Lacks body, and she dies, leaving behind her husband and five children.…

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jeremy Boss Thesis

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It was an honor to have Dr. Jeremy Boss deliver an informative presentation regarding his current research. Dr. Boss presentation was entitled; “Epigenetic regulation of adaptive immune responses”. Dr. Boss’ research is conducted at the illustrious Emory University of Medicine. At his institution, Dr. Boss research efforts are focused around microbiology and immunology. His efforts are to find out how to stop the adaptive immunity diseases.…

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With the genetic code now cracked, further advancements in molecular biology and biotechnology could now take place. The genetic code is universal so at the basic level it operates the same way throughout biology. It is used by cells in humans, plants, bacteria and all other species (Thieman & Palladino, 2004). Understanding genetics leads to a whole new array of tools and techniques in biotechnology. For this reason I feel that Nirenberg, Khorana and Holley’s work with the genetic code and protein synthesis deserves the Carleton prize for Biotechnology.…

    • 1084 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Telomeres are sequences of DNA that are made of 6 base pairs that can be compared to the plastic tips on shoelaces. They keep the chromosome ends from fraying and sticking to each other. Just like the plastic tips keep the shoelace from fraying. If a chromosome’s ends fray and stick together it could destroy or mess up an organism's genetic information. Each time our cells divide, our telomeres get shorter, and shorter, until they are unable to divide/get shorter.…

    • 152 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A. Eukaryotic cells store their genetic information in chromosomes made of DNA. This DNA is copied during interphase of the cell cycle. Replication is semiconservative, meaning one strand of the replicated DNA would be from the original molecule and one would be new. The parental strands serve as templates for the new strands. Replication can begin when helicase breaks the hydrogen bonds responsible for holding the two complementary strands together, ultimately causing the molecule to unwind.…

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    " Nucleic Acids Research 21.2 (1992): 259-65. Web. 23 Oct.…

    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Egg Cell Essay

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    -In a SCNT, the nucleus of an egg cell is removed and it becomes an enucleated egg cell. -The nucleus is removed because the nucleus contains the majority of the genetic information (DNA). -DNA has a double helix structure and it is made from many nucleotides -Nucleotides are made from a nitrogen base (Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, or Thymine), a phosphate group, and a deoxyribose. -The DNA is stored in the nucleus as chromatin, but during cell division the DNA stored as chromatin condense into chromosomes.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dna Synthesis

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Once upon a time, there was another DNA molecule, this time inside of a bacterium. This DNA decided that she wanted to create a new friend that was like her best friend but a little different and much smaller. This new friend would be called RNA, and through gene expression, would create a polypeptide. DNA decided, that in order to insure the completion of gene expression, she would create messenger RNA that would be called mRNA for short.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In addition to finding phosphates are placed on the outside of DNA strands; Franklin also discovered DNA is…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. Describe the properties of DNA and the steps involved in the synthesis of proteins from DNA. Deoxyribose nucleic acid is the fundamental hereditary genetic material present in all cells of an organism, and is essentially the “instructions” that the cell must follow for adequate growth, reproduction and protien function (1). The structure a DNA molecule is described as “helical”, composed of a sugar (deoxyribose), a negatively changed phosphate group and four types of small nucleotide bases: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T) (2).…

    • 242 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the hereditary material. It is a polynucleotide and is a double helix composed of two strand that run in opposite direction1. Each strand of DNA consist of a sugar molecule (deoxyribose), nitrogen base (adenine-A, guanine-G, thymine-T and cytosine-S) and a phosphate group. Adenine and guanine are double-ringed molecules known as purines while thymine and cytosine are single-ringed molecules known as pyrimidines1. Within the DNA molecule, the sugar molecules are joined to each other by 3’-5’ phosphodiester bonds where the 3’ carbon of a sugar molecule is connected to the 5’ carbon of the next sugar1.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Highlands Ranch, CO, June 22, 2012 Dr. Chad Prusmack, through his nutraceutical company PruTectRx, has been authorized by T.A. Sciences to prescribe the telomerase activator, TA-65. Popularized by Suzanne Somers in her book, Bombshell: Explosive Medical Secrets that Will Redefine Aging, TA-65 has been shown to lengthen telomeres in DNA strands, which can help slow aging, hinder the development of cancer and decrease genomic instability. TA-65 is only available through authorized, board-certified physicians. TA-65® was discovered by the biotech company Geron Corporation and is licensed for sale through T.A. Sciences. TA-65 turns on the telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (hTERT), which activates the enzyme telomerase that can lengthen…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Unit 18 - Genetics (Assignment 1) Task 1. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA for short) is genetic material that carry’s the majority of information for development growth and many other functions. DNA is located in the nucleus of a cell. DNA has a double helix structure and is formed by a series of bases these are Adenine , Cytosine , Guanine and Thymine.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics