Rewriting the Code of Life: DNA Snipping Technology Wins 2020 Chemistry Nobel Prize

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been endowed upon two female scientists for their work on the technology of genome editing used to edit DNA.

Emmanuelle Charpentier, left, and Jennifer A. Doudna, right, in Oviedo, Spain, in 2015. Photo from Miguel Riopa, Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Being the first two women to share the award with no male collaborators, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna were honored for their discovery of the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 “genetic scissors”, which is used to create particular changes to the genetic makeup of living cells with high accuracy and precision.

Revolutionizing the life sciences, the ability to sever DNA in intentional places has been transformative in the realms of basic research and medical sciences, wherein the genetic scissors are being studied for their ability to treat certain illnesses.

Contrary to its name, the genetic scissors are actually reprogrammed bacteria that have been designed to cut any DNA molecule at a fixed location.

The developments concerning this specific genome editing mechanism are rooted upon the discovery of the previously unknown trans-activating crispr RNA (tracrRNA), which is part of the immune defence system of the Streptococcus pyogenes bacterium.

In the immune defence system of Streptococcus pyogenes known as CRISPR-Cas, foreign viruses are disarmed by cleaving their DNA, which can be likened to scissors cutting genes.

Initially, Charpentier studied the bacterium independently before collaborating with Doudna, wherein the two scientists were acquainted through a mutual colleague during a conference they were both attending.

Together, the scientists recreated and simplified the bacterium’s genetic scissors in a test tube, and their discovery has since been widely used in basic research and medicine.

Showing potential to treat and cure inherited illnesses, the genetic scissors technology is currently being heavily researched upon for its ability to treat sickle cell anemia, a common worldwide blood disorder.

However, the Crispr-Cas9 scissors also opens up possibilities for ethical misuse.

The DNA snipping technology could be used to edit the DNA of embryos in order to create “designer babies” with certain desirable traits.

Additionally, any genome alterations can be passed on to future generations if ever children produced from genome editing were to reproduce, which can introduce lasting intentional changes to the human population.

In 2019, Chinese scientist He Jiankui violated a government ban after creating the world’s first genetically modified human babies, wherein human embryos were experimented on in an effort to make them protected against HIV.

Still, the possible uses of the genetic scissors in modern sciences prove the grandeur of the discovery.

"When it happens, you're very surprised, and you think it's not real. But obviously it's real," said Charpentier.

Charpentier added that she hopes that their win can provide a positive message for young girls in STEM, showing everyone that women in the sciences can also have profound research findings.

Both Charpentier and Douda will split the prize money of 10 million krona (Php 55,023,980).

The annual Nobel Prizes, which awards individuals for advancements in the fields of Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine, were founded by Swedish industrialist and chemist Alfred Nobel in 1985.