The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna “for the development of a method for genome editing”. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
Genetic scissors: a tool for rewriting the code of life
Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna have 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. This technology has had a revolutionary impact on the life sciences, is contributing to new cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true.
About Emmanuelle Charpentier:
- Emmanuelle Charpentier, born 1968 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, France.
- PhD. 1995 from Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
- Director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin, Germany.
About Jennifer A. Doudna:
- Jennifer A. Doudna, born 1964 in Washington, D.C, USA.
- PhD. 1989 from Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
- Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, USA and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.