In my early work, our molecular views of telomeres were first focused on the DNA.

I majored in Southern history in college, and much of my early work at my first job - as a staff writer at 'Memphis' magazine - focused on race relations.

Studying organisms at a molecular level was totally compelling because it was moving from being a naturalist, which was the 19th-century kind of science, to being very focused and really getting to the heart of these molecules.

My first two books are out of print and, okay, they can sleep there comfortably. It's early work, derivative work.

Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil.

If we think of our chromosomes - they carry our genetic material - as being like shoelaces, I work on the plastic tips at the end that protect them.