Studying organisms at a molecular level was totally compelling because it was moving from being a naturalist, which was the 19th-century kind of science, to being very focused and really getting to the heart of these molecules.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the shift in scientific focus from broad observations of nature to a detailed understanding of molecular structures.
Elizabeth Blackburn speaks to the evolution of science from a broad, observational approach typical of the 19th century naturalists to a more detailed, focused study of molecular biology. She finds this transition compelling as it allows scientists to delve deeply into the fundamental building blocks of life, uncovering the intricate details that govern biological processes.
In practice
In a lecture on the advancements of molecular biology, one might reference this quote to showcase the significance of scientific evolution.
Cancer cells have had so many other things go wrong with them, genetic, non-genetic changes, that those cells, one of the things they then get selected for is that they have lots of telomerase because now the telomeres in those cells get maintained.
We and other groups are seeing clear statistical links between telomere shortness and risk for a variety of diseases that are becoming very common, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers.
Checking your telomere length is a bit like weighing yourself: you get this single number which depends on a lot of factors. Telomere length gives a sense of your underlying health.
We think there are lifestyle factors that boost telomerase naturally.
For me, arguably the story of telomeres and telomerase began thousands of years ago, in the cornfields of the Maya highlands of Central America.
If we think of our chromosomes - they carry our genetic material - as being like shoelaces, I work on the plastic tips at the end that protect them.
It used to be thought that our genes were historically immutable and that it was not possible to imagine a conversation between culture and genetics.
Physics filled me with awe, put me in touch with a sense of original causes. Physics brought me closer to God. That feeling stayed with me throughout my years in science. Whenever one of my students came to me with a scientific project, I asked only one question, 'Will it bring you nearer to God?'
In the material sciences these are and have been, and are most surely likely to continue to be heroic days.
When the space shuttle's engines cut off, and you're finally in space, in orbit, weightless... I remember unstrapping from my seat, floating over to the window, and that's when I got my first view of Earth. Just a spectacular view, and a chance to see our planet as a planet.
The history of the universe is, in effect, a huge and ongoing quantum computation. The universe is a quantum computer.
The scientific observer of Nature is a kind of mystic seeker in the act of prayer.
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