Recommended Books
from Elizabeth Blackburn

Book List Science: Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy Jacob Bronowski Madame Curie: A Biography Eve Curie Elizabeth Blackburn and the Story of Telomeres: Deciphering the Ends of DNA Catherine Brady

Background Elizabeth H. Blackburn received the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 2006 for her role in the prediction and discovery of telomerase an enzyme that synthesizes telomeres—the tiny units of DNA that seal off the ends of chromosomes, protecting them and maintaining the integrity of the genes contained within them. Both telomeres and telomerase play a key role in cell aging and human cancer. In her laboratory at the University of California at San Francisco, Blackburn continues to study the mechanisms of telomere and telomerase function in model organisms such as yeasts and in human cancer cells. Essay There are two books I read as a teenager which affected my decision to be a scientist. One was Science: Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy, by Jacob Bronowski. This is a beautifully illustrated book written to be accessible to the general reader. It is a wonderful book that awoke my interest in the aesthetics of science as well as the wonder of science. The second book was Madame Curie, a biography of the scientist Marie Curie written by her daughter Eve. It was an inspiring story of a dedicated scientist and also, to me, a compellingly human story. My third suggestion for an engaging book about science may sound self-serving because it is a book written about my research, and me as a woman scientist. But people tell me that they are buying this book for their young relatives—granddaughters and so on—so I will include it for that reason. It also explains my research science very well. It is completely accurate for content—I helped with and vetted all of the science content. And the science is so clearly written and explained by this talented writer that it makes our research science accessible to the general reader. The book is called Elizabeth Blackburn and the Story of Telomeres: Deciphering the Ends of DNA, by Catherine Brady.