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PETBioNewsNewsCRISPR genome editing pioneers win Nobel prize in chemistry

BioNews

CRISPR genome editing pioneers win Nobel prize in chemistry

Published 9 October 2020 posted in News and appears in BioNews 1067

Author

Dr Eleanor Lynam

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.

Professors Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of CRISPR genome editing...

Professors Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of CRISPR genome editing.

The approach devised by the pair allows researchers to alter the DNA within cells with record accuracy, using molecules that evolved in bacteria as a defence against viruses. 

Claes Gustafsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry explained the significance of CRISPR genome editing: 'It has not only revolutionised basic science but also resulted in innovative crops and will lead to ground-breaking new medical treatments.'

Professor Charpentier first published her finding of the tracrRNA molecule (part of the DNA-cleaving CRISPR/Cas system) in the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes, in 2011. Shortly afterwards she started a collaboration with biochemist Professor Doudna, and the pair succeeded in manipulating the naturally occurring CRISPR/Cas complex to make precise targeted DNA edits.

CRISPR/Cas9 is faster and less expensive than previous approaches to precise genome editing, meaning it quickly became invaluable to researchers across a plethora of disciplines and has contributed to major discoveries in many research areas.

Some resulting work has raised ethical concerns, notably after Chinese scientist, Dr He Jiankui, created the world's first genome-edited babies (see BioNews 997). The experiment caused an outcry within the scientific community, raising concerns ranging from the level of consent gained to the unknown long-term effects of genome editing. 

Sarah Norcross, director of the Progress Educational Trust (the charity which publishes BioNews) said that the Professors Doudna and Charpentier had 'devised an unprecedentedly powerful and precise means of changing DNA sequences in living cells.' She added: 'there is still vast potential for CRISPR to bring further benefit to humanity, provided that it is used in a diligent and well-regulated way.'

Professor Doudna, born in Washington, USA, is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Charpentier was born in Juvisy-sur-Orge, France and is director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin, Germany. 

Professor Tom Welton, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said: 'I am hugely pleased to see that the Nobel committee has chosen to honour two leading women in active research - their teamwork is an example of how scientific breakthroughs are based on a truly global community of researchers and they can become role models for aspiring scientists of all genders.'

Sources and References

  • 07/10/2020
    Nature
    Pioneers of revolutionary CRISPR genome editing win chemistry Nobel
  • 07/10/2020
    CNN Health
    Nobel prize in chemistry awarded to scientists who discovered CRISPR genome editing tool for 'rewriting the code of life'
  • 07/10/2020
    The Nobel Prize
    Press release: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020
  • 07/10/2020
    BBC News
    Two women share chemistry Nobel in historic win for 'genetic scissors'
  • 07/10/2020
    The New York Times
    Nobel prize in chemistry awarded to two scientists for work on genome editing

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