CRISPR Turns the Genome Into Something You Can Edit
A 2012 paper showed Cas9 could be programmed with a single RNA to cut any DNA sequence, and won a 2020 Nobel Prize
Quick facts
- Key paper
- 2012 (Jinek, Doudna, Charpentier et al.)
- Tool
- Cas9 programmed with a single guide RNA
- Nobel Prize
- Chemistry, 2020, Doudna and Charpentier
- First
- First women to share a science Nobel together
What happened
CRISPR began as a bacterial immune system, a way microbes cut up the DNA of invading viruses. In a 2012 paper, Jennifer Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier, and colleagues showed that this system could be repurposed as a general gene-editing tool. They demonstrated that a mature guide RNA paired with a second RNA forms a structure that directs the protein Cas9 to make double-stranded cuts in target DNA, and that the Cas9 enzyme could be programmed with a single engineered RNA to target and cut essentially any DNA sequence a researcher chose. That made precise, low-cost editing of genomes broadly possible. In 2020 Doudna and Charpentier won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the co-development of CRISPR-Cas9, becoming the first women to share a science Nobel together.
Why it matters
CRISPR-Cas9 put deliberate, targeted genome editing within reach of ordinary laboratories, transforming biological research and opening paths to treat genetic diseases, some already reaching patients. It also raised urgent ethical questions, especially about editing human embryos, that medicine and society are still working through, making it both a technical milestone and a live moral debate.
How we know
The 2012 demonstration that Cas9 can be programmed with a single guide RNA to cut chosen DNA sequences is documented in the original peer-reviewed paper, and the 2020 Nobel Prize is documented in the announcement from the winners' own institution.
Sources
- Jinek, Chylinski, Fonfara, Hauer, Doudna, Charpentier (Science; via PMC / U.S. National Library of Medicine). A Programmable Dual-RNA-Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity · Primary source (author-declared)pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Berkeley News (University of California, Berkeley). UC Berkeley's Jennifer Doudna wins 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry · Reputable sourcenews.berkeley.edu · The domain "news.berkeley.edu" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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Part of a timelineHistory of Medicine24 events · From surgical papyri and the balance of four humors to a Babylonian handbook of omens, an alphabet of the human body, and the day two scientists learned to edit genesView all →