Science Students Must Read-Nobel Prize Award in Chemistry for "the development of a method for genome editing.”
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna “for the development of a method for genome editing.”
When viruses infect a bacterium, they send their harmful DNA into it. If the bacterium survives the infection, it inserts a piece of the virus DNA in its genome, like a memory of the virus. This DNA is then used to protect the bacterium from new infections.
During Chemistry Laureate 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.
Charpentier published her discovery in 2011. The same year, she initiated a collaboration with fellow 2020 Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna, an experienced biochemist with vast knowledge of RNA. Together, they succeeded in recreating the bacteria’s genetic scissors in a test tube and simplifying the scissors’ molecular components so they were easier to use.
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