Conversation with the queen of telomeres: Australian-American scientist Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn. Light years on from her early work sequencing the DNA of pond scum, Blackburn unraveled our understanding of the function of telomeres—the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes—and the role they play in aging and diseases such as cancer. She took on US President George W. Bush on the political flashpoint of federal funding for stem cell research, has pioneered a path for women scientists, and received the pinnacle of scientific achievement—the Nobel Prize—for unlocking secrets about how we age at a fundamental level. Her 2017 New York Times Bestseller, “The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer”, revealed how sleep quality, exercise, diet, chronic stress, and even the neighborhood you live in can impact the length of our telomeres and, in turn, our genetic heritage.