UCSF Researchers on "60 Mintues II" Tonight

By Jennifer O'Brien

UCSF scientists Elissa Epel, PhD, and Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, are featured in a piece scheduled to air tonight, Friday, Aug. 26 at 8 p.m. on CBS 60 Minutes II. The segment will focus on their research that psychological stress may exact its toll, at least in part, by affecting molecules believed to play a key role in cellular aging and, possibly, disease development. Specifically, Blackburn and Epel reported on the impact of stress on telomeres, snippets of DNA that bind the ends of chromosomes and play a role in cell aging. The two reported their first of ongoing studies in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Nov. 30, 2004. Read the full story here. The Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF, Blackburn, explained the function of telomeres and telomerase and her research during the 2005 Gladstone Distinguished Lecture in Molecular and Cell Biology on March 7.

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Source: Jennifer O'Brien