By Daniel Moralí
Research Associate
Science and Technology Policy
The CRISPR/Cas9 “genetic scissors” are making headlines again. The method for genome editing has earned its developers, Emmanuelle Charpentier (Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin) and Jennifer A. Doudna (University of California, Berkeley), the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. CRISPR/Cas9 — which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR ASsociated protein 9 — is a DNA editing complex found in bacterial immune systems. In 2012, Charpentier and Doudna discovered that CRISPR/Cas9 could be programmed for targeted genome editing of other cell types, including human cells. As a result, this discovery has made editing genetic sequences simpler, faster and more precise, revolutionizing biomedical research by allowing for the removal of specific genes from a DNA strand and the insertion of pre-assembled chains at the desired location in a cell’s genome.
Given the broad range of possible applications of CRISPR, the relevance of Charpentier and Doudna’s discovery cannot be overstated. For example, the genetic scissors can be used in agriculture to make crops more resilient. They can also be used for the diagnosis — and potential treatment— of genetic, chronic or infectious diseases, including the detection and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 to curb the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
However, as demonstrated by the 2018 case of a scientist using CRISPR to edit inheritable genes in the embryos of two twin girls born in October of that year, this technology also has the potential for application in controversial and potentially harmful interventions. While the use of technologies for questionable purposes is not new, CRISPR has again brought ethical questions surrounding the power of science in sharp focus, re-demonstrating the need for scientific literacy and public deliberation, as well as transparency and governance of research practices and policymaking.
In addition, this year’s award was a monumental occasion for women in science. This is the first science Nobel ever awarded to a team of women, and only the third all-female Chemistry Nobel award in the 119 years of existence of the Nobel Prize (the other two were awarded to Marie Curie in 1911 and Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin in 1964). All other women who have received the Chemistry Nobel did so along with male recipients. Overall, only seven women, compared to 185 men, have been chosen for the Chemistry Nobel.
Charpentier and Doudna envision this award as a force for empowering young women in science and encouraging girls to enter careers in science. Doudna remarked “I think it’s great, especially for younger women, to see this and to see that women’s work can be recognized as much as men’s.” Charpentier also noted the potential impact on young girls interested in science, “I think the fact that Jennifer Doudna and I were awarded the prize today can provide a very strong message for young girls.”