Perhaps arising from a fascination with animals, biology seemed the most interesting of sciences to me as a child.
Interpretation
The speaker developed a deep interest in biology from a young age, inspired by a love for animals.
In this quote, Elizabeth Blackburn reflects on her childhood fascination with animals that led her to find biology as a captivating field of study. This highlights how early passions can shape our career choices and interests, showcasing the natural curiosity that influences our journey in life and science.
In practice
In a classroom discussion about career paths, you could share this quote to illustrate how childhood interests can influence adult choices.
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.
If an autoimmune disease can create symptoms that look exactly like schizophrenia, that raises the question, what is schizophrenia? And are there forms of schizophrenia that are caused by other types of autoimmune disease?
The fundamental principle of science, the definition almost, is this: the _x000D_ sole test of the validity of any idea is experiment.
Science without conscience is the death of the soul.
So the thing I realized rather gradually - I must say starting about 20 years ago now that we know about computers and things - there's a possibility of a more general basis for rules to describe nature.
It surprises me how disinterested we are today about things like physics, space, the universe and philosophy of our existence, our purpose, our final destination. Its a crazy world out there. Be curious.
The conscious mind is not at the center of the action in the brain; instead, it is far out on a distant edge, hearing but whispers of the activity.
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