ABSTRACT
Nobel Prize 2009 in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to three American scientists, Elizabeth H.Blackburn, Carol W.Greider and Jack W.Szostak, for the discovery of"how the chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase".Telomere is the specific structure at the ends of the chromosomes and protects it from fusion and degradation.Telomerase synthesizes telomere DNA to maintain the telomere length.Studies suggest that telomere length and telomerase activity is directly associated with cell life and the genesis of many diseases.With the progress of study, how to control the telomere length and telomerase activity is helpful to shed light on the studies in"cancer, inherited diseases and senescence", and will stimulate the development of potential new therapies.