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Gene-editing tool CRISPR wins the chemistry Nobel

The ‘molecular scissors’ were developed just eight years ago

illustrated representation of the gene editing tool CRISPR/Cas9

Researchers Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna devised a powerful gene-editing tool called CRISPR/Cas9 (illustrated). The gene editor has revolutionized molecular genetics and gene therapy and netted the duo the 2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

Meletios Verras/iStock/Getty Images Plus

By Tina Hesman Saey

Updated

Turning a bacterial defense mechanism into one of the most powerful tools in genetics has earned Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier the Nobel Prize in chemistry.