Emmanuelle Charpentier of Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin, Germany and Jennifer A Doudna from University of California, Berkeley, US, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 on Wednesday. They were awarded “for the development of a method for genome editing.”

Let’s take a look at what the discovery is.

Charpentier and A Doudna discovered one of gene
technology’s sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. “Using these,
researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with
extremely high precision,” read a statement on the official website of Noble
Prize.

The technology has had a revolutionary impact on the life
sciences and is contributing to new cancer therapies. It may make the dream of
curing inherited diseases come true.

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As compared to previous works, the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic
scissors makes it possible to change the code of life over the course of a few
weeks.

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

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“As so often in science, the discovery of these genetic
scissors was unexpected. During Emmanuelle Charpentier’s studies of
Streptococcus pyogenes, one of the bacteria that cause the most harm to
humanity, she discovered a previously unknown molecule, tracrRNA. Her work
showed that tracrRNA is part of bacteria’s ancient immune system, CRISPR/Cas,
that disarms viruses by cleaving their DNA,” the statement continued.

In their natural form, the scissors recognise DNA from
viruses, but Charpentier and Doudna proved that they could be controlled so
that they can cut any DNA molecule at a predetermined site. Where the DNA is
cut it is then easy to rewrite the code of life.

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Use of genetic scissors

The genetic scissors has contributed to many important
discoveries in basic research, and plant researchers have been able to develop
crops that withstand mould, pests and drought. In medicine, clinical trials of
new cancer therapies are underway.