Pictures of Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna, winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, are displayed on a screen during the news conference announcing the laureates, at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in Stockholm, Sweden, October 7, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been jointly awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for the development of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system.
Also called genetic scissors, CRISPR/Cas9 allows for precise alterations to the genetic code of organisms.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which oversees the awards, said the technology has already had a "revolutionary impact on the life sciences" and "may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true".
French microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier first discovered what would form the basis of the technology within the immune system of a bacteria, which was capable of disarming viruses by slicing up their DNA.
After publishing her findings in 2011, Charpentier went on to collaborate with United States biochemist Jennifer A. Doudna. Together, they were able to recreate the bacteria's genetic scissors in the lab, simplifying certain molecular components so they were easier to use.
Capable of making cuts and alterations to DNA at a specific and premeditated site, CRISPR/Cas9 has emerged as an extremely powerful tool across many fields.
Using the technology, scientists have developed crops capable of withstanding drought and disease, and clinical trials for new cancer therapies are ongoing.
"These genetic scissors have taken the life sciences into a new epoch and, in many ways, are bringing the greatest benefit to humankind," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement.
The award for chemistry is the third of the Nobel Prizes to be handed out this year, with prizes in literature, peace, and economics to follow during the next five days.
David Haviland, member of the Nobel Committee for Physics and Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Goran K. Hansson announce the winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics presented on the screen: Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez during a news conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in Stockholm, Sweden Oct 6, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
On Tuesday, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel, and Andrea Ghez for their research into black holes.
Thomas Perlmann, Secretary of the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet and of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, announces Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice as the winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine during a news conference at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct 5, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
And on Monday, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was given to Michael Houghton, Harvey J. Alter, and Charles M. Rice, who played central roles in the discovery of the hepatitis C virus.
