Alexey Olovnikov

Alexey Matveyevich Olovnikov (Russian: Алексей Матвеевич Оловников; 10 October 1936 – 6 December 2022) was a Russian biologist. Among other things, in 1971, he was the first to recognize the problem of telomere shortening, to predict the existence of telomerase, and to suggest the telomere hypothesis of aging and the relationship of telomeres to cancer.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Olovnikov's theories were initially met with skepticism, but gained recognition in the late 20th century after the discovery of telomerase by Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak, who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work

Despite this discovery, he was not awarded a share of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded for the discovery of the enzyme and its biological significance.[7] In 2009 he was awarded Demidov Prize of the Russian Academy of Sciences.[8][9]

Alexey Olovnikov realized that explaining aging solely at the organismal level was inadequate, seeing telomere shortening as a "marker" rather than the root cause of aging.[10][11]

Olovnikov predicted the presence of a specialized DNA polymerase that lengthens telomeres in stem cells. [12]

Personal life

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Alexey Olovnikov was married to Natalia Olovnikova until his death in 2022.[13]

Death

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Dr. Olovnikov died December 6, 2022 at the age of 86. No specific reason has been publicly provided for his death.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Olovnikov, A.M. (1971). "Принцип маргинотомии в матричном синтезе полинуклеотидов" [Principle of marginotomy in template synthesis of polynucleotides]. Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR (in Russian). 201 (6): 1496–9. PMID 5158754.
  2. ^ Olovnikov, A.M. (1973-09-14). "A theory of marginotomy: The incomplete copying of template margin in enzymic synthesis of polynucleotides and biological significance of the phenomenon". Journal of Theoretical Biology. 41 (1): 181–190. Bibcode:1973JThBi..41..181O. doi:10.1016/0022-5193(73)90198-7. PMID 4754905.
  3. ^ "Alexey Matveevich Olovnikov". Hindawi Publishing Corporation. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  4. ^ Borisov, Alexander (5 October 2009). Открытие потеряло русский след [The discovery lost its Russian trace] (in Russian). Gazeta.ru. Archived from the original on October 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  5. ^ Скулачев: Нобелевский комитет "забыл" дать премию российскому биологу [Skulachev: The Nobel Committee "forgot" to give the prize to the Russian biology] (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  6. ^ Calder, Nigel (2003). Magic universe: the Oxford guide to modern science. Oxford University Press. pp. 424. ISBN 978-0-19-850792-5. Olovnikov.
  7. ^ Danielsson, Ola (2009). "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009 is awarded to Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak for the discovery of "how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"" (PDF). Nobel Prize.
  8. ^ Yegorov, Yegor E.; Zelenin, A.V. (13 February 2011). "Racing for cell immortality, telomeres, telomerase, and the measure of health". Russian Journal of Developmental Biology. 42 (1): 53–56. doi:10.1134/S1062360411010061. PMID 21442903. S2CID 30043400.
  9. ^ Olovnikova, Natalia I.; Olovnikov, Ivan A.; Kalmykova, Alla I. (November 2023). ""If I Were in Nature's Place, I Would Do It Like This..." Life and Hypotheses of Alexey Olovnikov". Biochemistry. Biokhimiia. 88 (11): 1683–1691. doi:10.1134/S0006297923110019. ISSN 1608-3040. PMID 38105190.
  10. ^ Kalmykova, Alla (January 2023). "Telomere Checkpoint in Development and Aging". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 24 (21): 15979. doi:10.3390/ijms242115979. ISSN 1422-0067. PMC 10647821. PMID 37958962.
  11. ^ "Library Index". olovnikov.com. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  12. ^ Kalmykova, Alla (January 2023). "Telomere Checkpoint in Development and Aging". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 24 (21): 15979. doi:10.3390/ijms242115979. ISSN 1422-0067. PMC 10647821. PMID 37958962.
  13. ^ Olovnikova, Natalia I.; Olovnikov, Ivan A.; Kalmykova, Alla I. (2023-11-01). ""If I Were in Nature's Place, I Would Do It Like This..." Life and Hypotheses of Alexey Olovnikov". Biochemistry (Moscow). 88 (11): 1683–1691. doi:10.1134/S0006297923110019. ISSN 1608-3040. PMID 38105190.
  14. ^ Olovnikova, Natalia I.; Olovnikov, Ivan A.; Kalmykova, Alla I. (2023-11-01). ""If I Were in Nature's Place, I Would Do It Like This..." Life and Hypotheses of Alexey Olovnikov". Biochemistry (Moscow). 88 (11): 1683–1691. doi:10.1134/S0006297923110019. ISSN 1608-3040. PMID 38105190.

WNYC RadioLab Episode on Mortality


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