Chemistry Nobel Prize 2020 awarded among two scientists for development of a method for genome editing

The Chemistry Nobel Prize 2020 has been jointly awarded to French scientist Emmaunelle Charpentier and American scientist Jennifer A. Doudna for the work of development of a technique for genome editing called as CRISPR.

Regarding their discovery, the jury commented, “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.”

The winners were declared by Goran Hansson, the Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Wednesday in Stockholm.

Charpentier, 51 and Doudna, 56 are the sixth and the seventh women to be honored with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The duo will be sharing the winning amount of 10 million Swedish kronor, which estimates to $ 1.1 million.

The first woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Chemistry was Madam Curie in 1911, who is also honored with Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 for the discovery of elements radium and polonium.