Two scientists win Nobel chemistry prize for gene-editing tool
| Stockholm
Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for developing a way of editing genes, an ethically challenging technique likened to 鈥渕olecular scissors鈥� that offers the promise of curing some diseases and creating more robust agricultural crops.
Working on opposite sides of the Atlantic, Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer Doudna came up with a method known as CRISPR-cas9 that can be used to change the DNA of animals, plants, and microorganisms. It was the first time two women have won the chemistry Nobel together 鈥� adding to the small number of female laureates in the sciences, where women have long received less recognition for their work than men.
The scientists鈥� work allows for laser-sharp snips in the long strings of DNA that make up the 鈥渃ode of life,鈥� allowing researchers to precisely edit specific genes to remove errors that lead to disease.
鈥淭here is enormous power in this genetic tool, which affects us all,鈥� said Claes Gustafsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. 鈥淚t has not only revolutionized basic science, but also resulted in innovative crops and will lead to groundbreaking new medical treatments.鈥�
Dr. Gustafsson said that, as a result, any genome can now be edited 鈥渢o fix genetic damage.鈥�
Dr. Francis Collins, who led the drive to map the human genome, said the technology 鈥渉as changed everything鈥� about how to approach diseases with a genetic cause.
鈥淵ou can draw a direct line from the success of the human genome project to the power of CRISPR-cas to make changes in the instruction book,鈥� said Dr. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health that helped fund Dr. Doudna鈥檚 work.
But many also cautioned that the technology must be used carefully and that it raises serious ethical questions. Much of the world became more aware of CRISPR in 2018, when Chinese scientist He Jiankui revealed he had helped make the world鈥檚 first gene-edited babies, to try to engineer resistance to future infection with the AIDS virus. His work was denounced as unsafe human experimentation because of the risk of causing unintended changes that could pass to future generations, and he鈥檚 currently imprisoned in China.
In September, an international panel of experts issued a report saying it鈥檚 still too soon to try to make genetically edited babies because the science isn鈥檛 advanced enough to ensure safety, but they mapped a pathway for countries that want to consider it.
鈥淏eing able to selectively edit genes means that you are playing God in a way,鈥� said American Chemistry Society President Luis Echegoyen, a chemistry professor at the University of Texas El Paso.
Dr. Charpentier, 51, spoke of the shock of winning.
鈥淪trangely enough I was told a number of times [that I鈥檇 win], but when it happens you鈥檙e very surprised and you feel that it鈥檚 not real,鈥� she told reporters by phone from Berlin after the award was announced in Stockholm by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 鈥淏ut obviously it鈥檚 real, so I have to get used to it now.鈥�
When asked about the significance of two women winning, Dr. Charpentier said that while she considers herself first and foremost a scientist, she hoped it would encourage others.
鈥淚 wish that this will provide a positive message to young girls who would like to follow the path of science,鈥� said Dr. Charpentier, who is currently the director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin.
Dr. Doudna told The Associated Press of her own surprise 鈥� including that she learned she鈥檇 won from a reporter.
鈥淚 literally just found out, I鈥檓 in shock,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was sound asleep.鈥�
鈥淢y greatest hope is that it鈥檚 used for good, to uncover new mysteries in biology and to benefit humankind,鈥� said Dr. Doudna, who is affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley and is paid by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which also supports AP鈥檚 Health and Science Department.
The breakthrough research done by Dr. Charpentier and Dr. Doudna was published in 2012, making the discovery very recent compared to many Nobel wins that are often only honored after decades have passed.
Speaking to reporters later at her lab, Dr. Charpentier said: 鈥淭his discovery is only eight years ago. And it has boomed extremely. Everyone is using now the CRISPR-cas9.鈥�
Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, a member of the Nobel Committee, noted that the method had 鈥渁lready benefited humankind greatly.鈥�
The Broad Institute at Harvard University and MIT have been in a long court fight over patents on CRISPR technology, and many other scientists did important work on it, but Dr. Doudna and Dr. Charpentier have been most consistently honored with prizes for turning it into an easily usable tool.
The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and prize money of more than $1.1 million, courtesy of a bequest left more than a century ago by the prize鈥檚 creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The amount was increased recently to adjust for inflation.
On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize for physiology and medicine to Americans Harvey Alter and Charles Rice and British-born scientist Michael Houghton for discovering the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus. Tuesday鈥檚 prize for physics went to Roger Penrose of Britain, Reinhard Genzel of Germany, and Andrea Ghez of the United States for their breakthroughs in understanding the mysteries of cosmic black holes.
The other prizes are for outstanding work in the fields of literature, peace, and economics.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. Christina Larson reported from Washington, and Frank Jordans from Berlin. AP Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione contributed from Milwaukee.
