Blackburn and Greider

Three Americans won Nobel Prizes in physiology or medicine today for their research on telomeres, the endcaps of chromosomes that protect genetic material from being erased. Understanding how telomoeres work is enlightening scientists on aging and disease. Nutritional supplement companies should pay special attention to this research as it may relate to their products.

The scientists were: Elizabeth Blackburn, a professor of biology and physiology at the University of California, San Francisco; Carol Greider, a professor in the department of molecular biology and genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore; and Jack Szostak, a professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. They had worked separately and together to show that when parts of telomeres were missing, DNA would eventually become shorter and cut off when replicated. Shorter telomeres lead to slower cell division and thus premature aging, the scientists discovered.

What can a person do to support the health of their telomeres? Research conducted National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences in the Research Triangle Park suggests that multivitamin supplements represent a major source of micronutrients, which may affect telomere length by moderating oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. (Disclosure: My mother was a research scientist at NIH in the Research Triangle Park.)

In a paper published in June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Qun Xu and her colleagues reported that multivitamin use was associated with longer telomeres. This is the first research to produce those results. While supplement makers cannot make aging-related health claims, they should take note of what the world is recognizing today and how it might affect their business in coming years.

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Companies keen on product development will likely get a boost from the compromise version of the stimulus bill that the House was set to vote on Friday. There are billions of dollars for government research grants and millions for construction of research buildings. The final legislation did pull back in areas such as agriculture. Here are the highlights, according to Inside Higher Ed:

• National Science Foundation: $3 billion, including $2.5 billion for research, $400 million for infrastructure and $100 million for education.
• National Institutes of Health: $10 billion, including $8.5 billion for research and $1.5 billion for university research facilities.
• National Institute of Standards and Technology: $180 million for competitive grants for research building construction.
• Energy Department: $2 billion for research, including $1.6 billion for Office of Science, $400 million for Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy; no money for infrastructure.

For a perspective on what the funds could mean for research, read or listen to this NPR report. Another view comes from a blog at The Scientist under the headline, “NIH wins stimulus jackpot.” Because there are so many versions of the bill, read it here in PDF format.

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Research at Yale

Nestled in the $800 billion-plus economic stimulus bills that Congress is considering are billions of dollars for non-profit research centers, universities and possibly private firms. The Chronicle of Higher Education breaks down the House and Senate bills into categories that range from NSF to NIH. The monies present opportunities for private and non-profit firms that understand how to tap into the funding.

Here are some of the particulars:

• National Science Foundation:  House bill (in XML format) bill — $2 billion for research grants, $900 million for equipment and facilities, and $100 million for science education; Senate bill (available by searching the PDF) — $1.2 billion for research grants, $150 million for infrastructure, $50 million for education.
• National Institutes for Health: House — $1.5 billion for biomedical research, $2 billion for facilities renovation and capacity building; $2.7 billion for biomedical research; $300 million for shared equipment.
• Agriculture Department Cooperative State Research, Education and Economic Service: House — no money; Senate — $100 million for Agriculture and Food Research Institute.
• National Institute of Standards and Technology: House — $300 million to construct research buildings at colleges; Senate — no funding.
• Agricultural Research Service: House — $209 million for facilities; Senate — no funds.

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