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Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier and Professor Jennifer Doudna have won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work in developing a method for genome editing.
The award takes the number of women who have ever won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry from five to seven.
The two scientists will also share SEK 10 million (£ 866,000) for the discovery of “one of the most precise tools in gene technology”: the CRISPR / Cas9 genome editing technique, or “gene scissors” as described by the committee.
How do genetic scissors work? Photo: Nobel Committee
“Using these [scissors], researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision, ”said the Nobel committee.
“This technology has had a revolutionary impact in the life sciences, is contributing to new cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases a reality.”
It is the first time that the Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to two women in the same year in its 119-year history.
The genome editing technique they developed is based on the creation of proteins that match the DNA code where a “cut” is to be made.
This allows researchers to insert, repair or edit a gene in such a way that the DNA does not see the change as damage, but as a legitimate edit to be replicated by the cell.
“There is enormous power in this genetic tool, which affects us all,” said Claes Gustafsson, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.
“It has not only revolutionized basic science, it has also spawned groundbreaking crops and will lead to revolutionary new medical treatments.”
The discovery was described as an unexpected result of Professor Charpentier’s study of the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes.
He discovered a previously unknown molecule, tracrRNA, in bacteria and discovered that this molecule was part of an ancient immune system, CRISPR / Cas, that disarms viruses by cleaving their DNA.
“Charpentier published his discovery in 2011. The same year, he began a collaboration with Jennifer Doudna, an experienced biochemist with vast knowledge of RNA,” the committee reported.
“Together, they were able to recreate the genetic scissors of the bacteria in a test tube and simplified the molecular components of the scissors to make them easier to use,” he added.
“In an epochal experiment, they later reprogrammed the genetic scissors.
“In their natural form, the scissors recognize the DNA of viruses, but Charpentier and Doudna showed that they could be controlled to cut any DNA molecule at a predetermined site.
“Where DNA is cut, it is easy to rewrite the code of life,” added the Nobel committee.
Since scientists discovered these genetic scissors in 2012, the tool has contributed to a huge variety of research, including developing crops that can resist mold, pests and drought.
In medicine, clinical trials of new cancer therapies are being conducted, and the dream of being able to “cure inherited diseases is about to come true,” the quote concluded.
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