Page 12 - aruba-today-20201008

A12 SCIENCE
Thursday 8 OcTOber 2020
2 scientists win Nobel chemistry prize for gene-editing tool

By DAVID KEYTON, CHRIS- misapplication."
TINA LARSON and FRANK When asked about the sig-
JORDANS Associated Press nificance of two women
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Two winning, Charpentier, 51,
scientists won the Nobel said that while she consid-
Prize in chemistry Wednes- ers herself first and foremost
day for developing "molec- a scientist, "it's reflective of
ular scissors" to edit genes, the fact that science be-
offering the promise of one comes more modern and
day curing a host of inher- involves more female lead-
ited diseases. ers." "I do hope that it will
Working on opposite sides remain and even develop
of the Atlantic, French- more in this direction," she
woman Emmanuelle Char- said, adding that it is "more
pentier and American Jen- cumbersome to be a wom-
nifer A. Doudna developed an in science than to be a
a method known as CRIS- man in science."
PR-cas9 that can be used Three times a woman has
to alter the DNA of animals, won a Nobel in the scienc-
plants and microorganisms. es by herself; this is the first
The award marked only the time an all-female team
fourth time in the 119-year won a science prize. In
history of the prizes that a 1911, Marie Curie was the
Nobel in the sciences was sole recipient of the chem-
given exclusively to wom- In this March 14, 2016 file photo American biochemist Jennifer A. Doudna, left, and the French istry award, as was Doro-
en. microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier, right, poses for a photo in Frankfurt, Germany. Associ- thy Crowfoot Hodgkin in
Charpentier and Doudna's ated Press. 1964. In 1983, Barbara Mc-
work allows for laser-sharp Clintock won the Nobel in
snips in the long strings of genetic cause. and must be used carefully. netically edited babies be- medicine.
DNA that make up the "You can draw a direct line Much of the world became cause the science isn't ad- The breakthrough research
code of life, enabling sci- from the success of the hu- more aware of CRISPR in vanced enough to ensure done by Charpentier and
entists to precisely edit spe- man genome project to 2018, when Chinese sci- safety, but they mapped a Doudna was published in
cific genes to remove errors the power of CRISPR-cas entist He Jiankui revealed pathway for countries that 2012, making the discov-
that lead to diseases. to make changes in the he had helped make the want to consider it. ery very recent compared
"There is enormous power instruction book," said Col- world's first gene-edited "Being able to selectively with a lot of other Nobel-
in this genetic tool," said lins, director of the National babies, to try to engineer edit genes means that you winning research, which is
Claes Gustafsson, chair of Institutes of Health, which resistance to infection with are playing God in a way," often honored only after
the Nobel Committee for helped fund Doudna's the AIDS virus. His work was said American Chemistry decades have passed.
Chemistry. "It has not only work. denounced as unsafe hu- Society President Luis Eche- "My greatest hope is that it's
revolutionized basic sci- More than 100 clinical tri- man experimentation be- goyen, a chemistry profes- used for good, to uncover
ence but also resulted in als are underway to study cause of the risk of causing sor at the University of Texas new mysteries in biology
innovative crops and will using CRISPR in treatments unintended changes that El Paso. and to benefit humankind,"
lead to groundbreaking for inherited diseases, and could pass to future gen- George Daley, dean of said Doudna, who is affili-
new medical treatments." "many are very promising," erations, and he has been Harvard Medical School, ated with the University of
Dr. Francis Collins, who led said Victor Dzau, president sentenced to prison in Chi- said: "New technology of- California, Berkeley, and
the drive to map the hu- of the National Academy na. ten presents this dichotomy is paid by the Howard
man genome, said the of Medicine. In September, an interna- — there is immense poten- Hughes Medical Institute,
technology "has changed But many also cautioned tional panel of experts is- tial for human benefit, es- which also supports The As-
everything" about how to that the technology raises sued a report saying it is still pecially for disease treat- sociated Press' Health and
approach diseases with a serious ethical questions too soon to try to make ge- ment, but also the risk of Science Department.q

What do we know about superspreader events in the pandemic?

By The Associated Press undefined fection occurs in settings such as contact tracing data from Hong event and the number of people
What do we know about super- churches, restaurants or bars. Kong estimated that 19% of peo- infected suggests the possibility of
spreader events in the pandemic? In the United States, for instance, a ple infected were responsible for superspreading, she said.
We're still learning, but it seems that choir member with symptoms at- 80% of the spread of coronavirus "Contact tracing is the way you get
much of the spread of the corona- tended a rehearsal in March. Of 60 infections. to the bottom of a superspreader
virus has been caused by what dis- others who attended, 52 got sick To prevent superspreader events, event," Rimoin said. "That's how you
ease trackers call superspreader with COVID-19, including two who we need to better understand break chains of transmission."
events. died. them, said Anne Rimoin, an infec- Unlike many contact tracing inves-
That's when a single person infects In Hong Kong, an outbreak at four tious diseases expert at the Univer- tigations, where it can be difficult
a large number of other people, bars infected 39 customers, 20 staff sity of California, Los Angeles. to find everybody involved, the
or when a gathering is linked to a members and 14 musicians before She has called for detailed contact White House investigation would
large number of cases. ballooning further to infect 33 fam- tracing of the infections around have "exquisite records and video
There's no rule for when a cluster of ily members and other contacts. President Donald Trump, includ- about who was where and when,"
cases is big enough to be called Disease trackers discovered that ing those who attended a Sept. Rimoin said. "It's an opportunity to
a superspreader event. But these bands played at all four bars, so 26 Rose Garden ceremony and in- learn about superspreader events
are not instances of spread within musicians may have spread the vi- door White House reception for Su- that could save thousands of lives,
one household. Instead, these are rus to more than 100 people all told. preme Court nominee Judge Amy if not millions of lives, in the long
large clusters of cases where in- Scientists studying three months of Coney Barrett. The timing of the run."q