The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for the discovery of the structure of telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.

The initial discovery of the molecular structure of the ends of the chromosomes from the pond dwelling organism tetrahymena, has had a far reaching impact into our understanding of disease in humans.  By protecting the ends of chromosomes, telomeres play a key role in upholding the integrity of the genome, and thus telomere biology impacts upon cancer, the ageing process and genetic disease.

Telomeres shorten as a function of cell division and age, the presence of short telomeres can trigger cells to stop dividing, they become senescent. By preventing unlimited cell division telomere shortening provides a tumour suppressive mechanism, the corollary of which, is that as we age there is an accumulation of senescent cells that may underlie age-related tissue degeneration and disease.