The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry – Genetic Scissors CRISPR-Cas9
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On 7 October 2020, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin, Germany, and Jennifer A. Doudna of the University of California in the United States, for their work on a new "method developed for genome editing". This new genetic engineering technique is called CRISPR-Cas9. The prize money of 10 million Swedish kronor (1.2 million United States dollars) will be divided equally between the two scientists.
Genetic scissors: a tool for rewriting the code of life
Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna discovered one of the sharpest tools in gene technology: the CRISPR / Cas9 genetic scissors. Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants, and microorganisms with extremely high precision. This technology has had a revolutionary impact on the life sciences, is contributing to new cancer treatments, and could fulfill the dream of curing inherited diseases.
If researchers want to learn about the inner workings of life, they must change the genes in cells. This used to be a time-consuming, difficult, and sometimes impossible task. With the CRISPR / Cas9 genetic scissors, it is now possible to change the code of life within a few weeks.
There is tremendous power in this genetic tool that affects us all. Claes Gustafsson, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, says: "This discovery has not only revolutionized basic science, but has also resulted in innovative crops and will lead to groundbreaking new medical treatments"
As so often happens in science, the discovery of these genetic scissors was unexpected. Emmanuelle Charpentier, during her studies of one of the bacteria most harmful to humanity, Streptococcus pyogenes, discovered a previously unknown molecule: tracrRNA. Her work showed that tracrRNA was part of the ancient immune system that neutralizes viruses by cleaving their DNA, CRISPR / Cas.
Charpentier published her discovery in 2011. In the same year, she began a collaboration with Jennifer Doudna, an experienced biochemist with extensive knowledge of RNA. Together, they succeeded in recreating the bacterium's genetic scissors in a test tube and simplifying the scissors' molecular components, making them easier to use.
In a groundbreaking experiment, they reprogrammed the genetic scissors. In their natural form, the scissors recognize DNA from viruses, but Charpentier and Doudna proved that they could be controlled to cut any DNA molecule at a predetermined site. Where the DNA is cut, it is easy to rewrite the code of life.
Since Charpentier and Doudna discovered the CRISPR / Cas9 genetic scissors in 2012, their use has exploded. This tool has contributed to many important discoveries in basic research, and plant researchers have been able to develop crops resistant to mold, pests, and drought. In medicine, clinical trials of new cancer treatments are underway, and the dream of treating inherited diseases is about to become a reality. These genetic scissors have taken the life sciences into a new era and, in many ways, are bringing the greatest benefit to humanity.
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