This month in science: NASA astrobiology research group led by UC Santa Cruz funded, planetary habitability and radiogenic heat linked, Yuan Ping awarded grant from Air Force Young Investigator Program, job opportunities, and more...
The NASA Astrobiology Program has awarded a five-year, $5 million grant to an interdisciplinary consortium led by the University of California, Santa Cruz, to trace the volatile elements that form the atmospheres of planets, establishing a scientific foundation for detecting the signatures of life on other worlds.
Telomeres are structures made of repetitive DNA that protect the ends of chromosomes. Every time a cell divides, telomeres shorten by a small amount. This shortening is counterbalanced by the enzyme telomerase, which elongates telomeres by adding repetitive DNA to maintain an equilibrium in length. Increased telomere length enables the continuous proliferation of cancer cells, while telomere shortening is associated with aging and age-related diseases. Inherited telomere syndromes involving abnormally short telomeres can lead to bone marrow failure, lung disease, liver disease, and other conditions. Join us for this important talk with Professor Greider as she helps us understand telomere maintenance mechanisms at a fundamental level, and how it may allow new approaches to these diseases.
