Two Scientists Win Chemistry Nobel Prize for Crispr Gene Editing Method

Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work in developing Crispr, a method for editing genes that allows scientists to rewrite the DNA of any living organism.

Deemed a “genetic scissors” for its ability to excise flawed bits of DNA, the technique has sped biomedical investigations around the world and given hope of treating or curing dozens of rare diseases.

“This technology has had a revolutionary impact on the life sciences, is contributing to new cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Wednesday.

The rare award of the chemistry prize to two women crowns them as the innovators in a field whose origins have been hotly debated, with other researchers laying claim to having done the key work. The technique itself has spawned both hope and controversy as ethicists warned about the potential impact of its use in humans.

Crispr is based on a rudimentary bacterial immune system that Japanese scientists first noticed more than 30 years ago. The system destroys pathogens by cutting the DNA of invaders using enzymes called CAS nucleases, Cas9 being the most widely studied.

Charpentier, director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin, was credited by the Nobel committee for her discovery of a molecule called tracrRNA, and its role in the bacterial immune system.

She and Doudna, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, co-published the first findings showing that Crispr, interacting with Cas9, could edit the genes of a bacterial cell in 2012.

Scientists at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts adapted Crispr for use in human cells and researchers at Harvard Medical School also contributed to the understanding of how to deploy the technology in stem cells. The universities have been fighting over who gets the credit for inventing the breakthrough technology.

Crispr allows scientists to add and subtract DNA from the genomes of all sorts of organisms. It’s being used to engineer crops such as wheat, rice and tomatoes that are resistant to bacteria, fungi and viruses. It’s been employed to make mosquitoes that are incapable of carrying deadly malaria.

An uproar arose in early 2018 when Chinese researcher He Jiankui said he had used the technology to manipulate the genomes of twin girls in an effort to render them less vulnerable to HIV infection. That led scientists to call for a worldwide moratorium on the use of genome editing to genetically modify children.

“There is enormous power in this genetic tool, which affects us all,” said Claes Gustafsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. “It has not only revolutionized basic science, but also resulted in innovative crops and will lead to ground-breaking new medical treatments.”

Only five women have previously been awarded the chemistry prize. Marie Curie was the first female to become a Nobel laureate, and won the chemistry prize in 1911.

“My wish is that this will provide a positive message to the young girls who would like to follow the path of science,” Charpentier said, according to a tweet from Nobel Prize officials.

Annual prizes for achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, peace and literature were established in the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite, who died in 1896. The prize in economic sciences was added by Sweden’s central bank in 1968.

The Nobel Foundation announced last month it was increasing the amount awarded for individual prizes to 10 million kronor ($1.1 million), from 9 million kronor previously, to reflect a rise in the returns generated on its capital.

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