NATHALIE MOLL
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) 

THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR CHEMISTRY IS A TIMELY REMINDER NOT ONLY OF PROGRESS, BUT ALSO OF THE SCALE OF THE CHALLENGE THAT LIES AHEAD ON OUR PATH TO GENDER EQUITY IN SCIENCE

Since the discovery of a ‘genetic scissors’ with the power to tweak the code of life, the awarding of a Nobel Prize for this game-changing breakthrough had become increasingly likely. CRISPR/Cas, a gene editing tool with potential to spur a revolution in medical innovation as well as pest-resistant crops, promises to be the catalyst for a new era of scientific advancement. By developing a sophisticated way to cut and paste DNA, CRISPR/Cas has already led to trialws of new cancer therapies and many more innovative medicines are on the horizon. In the grand history of medical science, it may rank alongside the discovery of DNA itself.

The brief history of CRISPR/Cas can be traced back to a 2011 when Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin, published landmark findings from her work on the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes. Charpentier discovered a previously unknown molecule, tracrRNA, which was part of an ancient immu ...