CRISPRgenomeeditinggetsNobelPrizeinChemistry
EmmanuelleCharpentierandJenniferA.Doudnarecognizedfortheirinventionofgeneeditingtool
EmmanuelleCharpentierandJenniferA.Doudna
Credit:VilniusUniversity;
LauraMortonPhotography
TheNobelPrizeinChemistryhasgonetoEmmanuelleCharpentierandJenniferA.Doudna"forthedevelopmentofamethodforgenomeediting."Thatmethod,formallyknownasCRISPR/Cas9geneediting,butoftensimplycalledCRISPR,allowsscientiststopreciselycutanystrandofDNAtheywish.Inthe8yearssinceitscreation,scientistshavepublishedthousandsofexperimentsusingCRISPRtoalterDNAinorganismsacrossthetreeoflife,includingbutterflies,mushrooms,tomatoes,andevenhumans.
CRISPRhasbeenaboonforbiologistswhousethemolecularscissorstoprobethecodeoflifeinfundamentalscienceexperiments.Butresearchershavewastednotimeinapplyingthetooltoagricultureandhumanhealth.SeveralgroupsareusingCRISPRtochangetheDNAoflivestockandcrops.OthersareusingCRISPRasthebasisofone-timetherapiesthatcouldpotentiallyoffercurestogeneticdiseaseslikesicklecelldiseaseandmusculardystrophy.CRISPRhasevenbeenusedtomakesimplediagnostictestsduringthecoronaviruspandemic.
“ThenumberofdiscoveriesinbiomedicinethathavehadtheimpactthatJennifersandEmmanuelleshadcanbecountedonthefingersofonehand:re
