Elizabeth Blackburn on the telomere effect: ‘It’s about keeping healthier for longer’ This article is more than 7 years old The Nobel winner says keeping telomeres – the ends of our chromosomes – in prime condition can stave off diseases associated with ageing You won your Nobel prize for medicine for your discoveries concerning telomeres, found at the ends of chromosomes. What are telomeres and what happens to them as we age? If you think of your chromosomes – which carry your genetic material – as shoelaces, telomeres are the little protective tips at the end. They are made of repeating short sequences of DNA sheathed in special proteins. During our lives they tend to wear down and when telomeres can’t protect chromosomes properly, cells can’t replenish and they malfunction. This sets up physiological changes in the body which increase risks of the major conditions and diseases of ageing: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, a weakened immune system and more. But the proce...