His goal: to unravel the origins of life
To discover the secrets of the universe, you need to mess with primordial ooze.
Jack Szostak, a professor of genetics at Harvard University and a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital, is exploring the origins of life by trying to recreate the first sputterings of evolutionary biology in a test tube. Through the process of hatching simple cells in the laboratory, he's looking to discover how life emerged from the earth's ancient chemical soup.
``We're doing physical chemistry, synthetic chemistry, molecular biology, cloning, and sequencing," says Szostak, 53. ``The exciting science is all happening on the edges of the disciplines."
As a participant in Harvard's ``Origins of Life in the Universe" initiative, Szostak is one of many researchers from fields as diverse as astronomy and biology working together to unveil the mysteries of what happened on earth four billion years ago. One of the topics Szostak's laboratory has studied is how a particular type of clay, when mixed with fatty acids and RNA -- molecules that can carry genetic information -- might have led to the formation of the first cells.
``Cell membranes self-assemble under the right conditions," says Szostak. ``If you sprinkle a little bit of clay into these reactions, it speeds them up." Thus we can imagine that a particular type of mineral surface -- one that earth happens to possess -- promotes the assembly of cell membranes, and hence the development of life.
Originally from Ottawa, Szostak studied cellular biology at McGill University in Montreal before moving to Cornell University in New York for graduate studies in biochemistry. ``It was an incredibly exciting time," he says. ``This was the mid-1970s, when recombinant DNA was being invented. We were working on the chemical synthesis of DNA!"
After a stint as an assistant professor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Szostak turned his energies to the question of life's origins by evolving molecules in his lab. That's the work he's doing today and to which he's devoted his career. His ambition is a simple one, but it's audacious. ``I'd like to come to a deeper understanding of how life got started on this planet," he says.
Szostak is the image of the researcher. Wearing a gray sweatshirt and a bashful smile, it's easy to imagine him prodding at cell membranes and cultivating macromolecules. It's slightly more difficult to envision him sitting at the formal dinners he attends as a member of the National Academy of Sciences or the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Doug Treco, an assistant molecular biologist in Szostak's laboratory, says: ``He's probably the smartest person anybody will ever meet. He's constantly reinventing the lab, constantly eager to move to the next frontier. And he has an uncanny ability to tell if an idea is good or bad within seconds of hearing it."
Certainly Szostak's research is applauded. This month he won the prized Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in recognition of work he did 25 years ago on the DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes (telomeres) and the discovery of an enzyme called telomerase. Organisms use telomerase to prevent their DNA from degenerating when their cells divide.
``If you don't have that enzyme, your DNA gets shorter and shorter," says Szostak. ``This can cause chromosome rearrangements and breakage and all kinds of problems, including cancer." His discovery opened new directions for research on aging, as well as the possibility of developing new cancer drugs. ``You can never tell at the time that your work is going to affect so many things."
Fact sheet
Hometown: Boston's Back Bay.
Hobbies: Hiking. ``I go all over New England." Also, reading scientific biographies. ``I'm interested in what made some people able to make discoveries when others couldn't." Not that he has much time for hobbies. ``I chose this field because I knew it would keep me busy."
Likes: Funding for research. ``It's important to remember that fun stuff happens when you're allowed to take a chance."
Dislikes: Intelligent design, the idea that life is too complex to have happened without the help of a higher being. ``It's discouraging to think that the central concept of modern biology is so poorly appreciated. The general level of science education doesn't bode well for the future of this country."
On the ``Origins of Life" initiative: ``It's a great thing. I like talking to people who work in different fields with different perspectives. Interesting science will come of it."
