Science this week

Its been a stellar week for Telomere biologists. There are 2 great telomere papers, one in Science and the other in G&D this week. The Science paper in particular was very interesting to me. They actually show that the telomeric DNA(which is actually just several kilobases of TTAGGG repeats) is transcribed into RNA. Of course, its non-coding RNA. Its impossible to envisage that DNA forming any functional protein. But non-coding RNAs are the most interesting creatures. Last years' Nobel went to Fire & Mello for their discovery of the phenomenon of RNAi, which is mediated by small RNAs. MicroRNAs are now the flavor of the month. They have been found to be involved in gene regulation at multiple levels, not just post-transcriptional gene silencing. Both siRNAs and miRNAs are non-coding RNAs. So, the finding that telomeric DNA is actually transcribed into RNA(albeit non-coding RNA) is fascinating. The authors suggest that this RNA could play a role in regulating chromatin organization around telomeres. The fact that cellular senescence is associated with genome wide chromatin remodeling is well known. It will be interesting to see if telomeric RNA influences this process, and how it does so.

And the Nobel Prize for Medicine/Physiology this year has been announced. Mario Capecchi and his co-winners are a long awaited choice. I remember HZ being quite ticked off last year that the discoverers of RNAi (a relatively recent finding-1998) had been honored before the people who came up with the gene targeting strategy in mice.(a discovery made in the 80s) Mario Capecchi's story is a classic. HZ related it to me last year when we were driving back from Woods Hole. Capecchi was separated from his mother at the age of 4. She was sent to a concentration camp. He lived on the streets for 4 1/2 years by himself. His mother survived the concentration camp, and they then moved to the States after the war, where he started school for the first time at the age of 9. The rest, as they say, is history. Its well known that he is a brilliant scientist. Also, I've been told he is a wonderfully supportive mentor. What an inspiring story, and what a MAN to have made his life what it is.