--- title: How Pond Scum Holds the Secret to Longevity description: Nobel Prize-winning scientist Elizabeth Blackburn says pond scum is “an organism that multiplies forever and ever." canonical: https://time.com/4554598/pond-scum-longevity/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-02T13:18:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:59.499Z article:section: Health og:title: This Is Why 'Pond Scum' Holds the Secret to Longevity og:description: Nobel Prize-winning scientist Elizabeth Blackburn explains og:url: https://time.com/4554598/pond-scum-longevity/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d0e8b93fa048572/6988aca30a4a22742c9cbe21/elizabeth-blackburn-pond-scum-longevity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Three American Scientists Share Nobel Prize In Medicine og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is Why 'Pond Scum' Holds the Secret to Longevity twitter:description: Nobel Prize-winning scientist Elizabeth Blackburn explains twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d0e8b93fa048572/6988aca30a4a22742c9cbe21/elizabeth-blackburn-pond-scum-longevity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is Why 'Pond Scum' Holds the Secret to Longevity > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Life Expectancy Varies Based on Your Income [Watch (HLS stream): Life Expectancy Varies Based on Your Income](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SBOYlcN1.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2016-04-11. Is being rich a one way to ensure a long life? According to the latest study, yes. Money may not buy you happiness (or love) but it might just buy you more time to find them._ by [Erika Fry / Fortune](https://time.com/author/fortune/) ## Erika Fry / Fortune Fortune Nov 2, 2016 1:18 PM UTC  University of California San Francisco scientist Elizabeth Blackburn speaks during a news conference after winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine in San Francisco on Oct. 5, 2009. University of California San Francisco scientist Elizabeth Blackburn speaks during a news conference after winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine in San Francisco on Oct. 5, 2009. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Erika Fry / Fortune](https://time.com/author/fortune/) ## Erika Fry / Fortune Fortune Nov 2, 2016 1:18 PM UTC There’s more to pond scum than meets the eye. Just ask Nobel Prize-winning scientist Elizabeth Blackburn, now the President of the Salk Institute, who earned her Laureate status, in part, for insights gleaned from that lowly life form. Blackburn is famous for her work on telomeres—the chromosome-capping entities that protect genetic material as it replicates. Telomeres wear down over time, she discovered—and that erosion corresponds to aging. She also discovered that telomerase, an enzyme plentiful in “pond scum,” but limited in humans, rebuilds telomeres and holds the secret to longevity. Pond scum, she said, speaking at _Fortune’s_ Brainstorm Health conference on Tuesday, is “an organism that multiplies forever and ever. We used to say, you could feed and talk nicely to it and it would multiply forever.” It’s not so easy with human cells. Blackburn says telomerase can be a mixed blessing: while the enzyme allows the renewal of useful, necessary human cells—like blood cells—it also promotes the spread of cancer cells. It will take more science to discover when telomerase becomes a danger, and how that knowledge might be used to improve health. For now, what we know about telomeres tells us a few basic things about how to live a longer life, says Blackburn, whose book, _The Telomere Effect: The New Science of Living Younger,_ hits stores in January. Her research has shown that people who exercise, sleep well, eat decent food, and keep a good attitude—“everything your mother told you,” she said—are more likely to preserve their telomeres and live longer. Her studies have also shown that long episodes of stress—dealing with a sick child, for instance—take a toll on one’s telomeres, and contribute to aging. Of course, telomeres are only one piece of the puzzle, Blackburn explained. While the health of one’s telomeres correspond with longevity, it’s only one factor, she said. _This_ [_article_](http://fortune.com/2016/11/02/pond-scum-health-telomeres-longevity/) _originally appeared on_ [_Fortune.com_](http://www.fortune.com) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4554598/pond-scum-longevity/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4554598/pond-scum-longevity/"},"headline":"This Is Why 'Pond Scum' Holds the Secret to Longevity","datePublished":"2016-11-02T13:18:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:59.499Z","description":"Nobel Prize-winning scientist Elizabeth Blackburn explains","url":"https://time.com/4554598/pond-scum-longevity/","keywords":["Research"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d0e8b93fa048572/6988aca30a4a22742c9cbe21/elizabeth-blackburn-pond-scum-longevity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Erika Fry / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d0e8b93fa048572/6988aca30a4a22742c9cbe21/elizabeth-blackburn-pond-scum-longevity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Three American Scientists Share Nobel Prize In Medicine","caption":"University of California San Francisco scientist Elizabeth Blackburn speaks during a news conference after winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine October 5, 2009 in San Francisco, California.","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4554598/pond-scum-longevity/","name":"This Is Why 'Pond Scum' Holds the Secret to Longevity"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Life Expectancy Varies Based on Your Income","description":"Is being rich a one way to ensure a long life? 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