The winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry were announced today, and are shared by American Dorner and French Charpentier, both of whom have worked on a gene editing technique called CRISPR-Cas9 genetic scissors. Both have also received Taiwan’s Tang Prize for their work.
Emmanuelle Charpentier, 51, and Jennifer A. Doudna, 56, are the sixth and seventh women, respectively, to win the Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Charpentier was studying a common and harmful bacterium when she discovered previously unknown molecules that are part of the bacteria’s innate immune system, which makes them harmless by cutting through parts of the virus’ DNA.
After publishing her research in 2011, she collaborated with Dorner to reconstruct the bacterium’s genetic scissors and simplify the tool so that it could be more easily used and applied to other genetic material.
At the time, they recoded the genetic scissors to cut any DNA molecule at a predetermined location, thus paving the way for scientists to rewrite the life code of severed DNA.
This CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology has been used to dramatically improve crop resistance, altering the genetic code of crops to make them more resistant to drought and pests.
This technology has also led to innovative cancer therapies, and many experts hope that genetic manipulation will someday lead to cures for genetic diseases.
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