There will be a special screening of the critically acclaimed documentary "Decoding Immortality" at 6:30 p.m. April 13 in room C106 of Holmes Hall.
Beyond any face cream, cosmetic surgery or antioxidant pill, an extraordinary secret of renewal lies in the discovery by the 2009 Nobel Prize winner for medicine, University of California, San Francisco, scientist Elizabeth Blackburn. Blackburn discovered that as cells divide and grow, a telomere – a small DNA cap at the end of each chromosome – protects DNA from damage. She showed that an enzyme called telomerase repairs the telomeres and "keeps DNA young." Her breakthroughs have revolutionized our understanding of the aging process. Blackburn is the current President of the American Association for Cancer Research, and has also been honored with the Gruber Prize and the Lasker Prize, two of the top international awards in medical research.
This event is free and is co-sponsored by the Michigan Women’s Historical Center and Hall of Fame, ADAPP-ADVANCE, Lyman Briggs Women in Science and the Michigan State University Women’s Resource Center.
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