"It was difficult for Emmanuel Charpentier to publish because no one was interested in infectious diseases as long as there was no epidemic"

This is what Prof. Harmona Sorek from the Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University says in an interview with the Scientist website, who is happy about the decision to award Emmanuel Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna the Wolf Prize last year. Now Charpentier is establishing the Max Planck Institute for Infectious Diseases in Berlin with a large budget, and is also contributing to corona research

"It was difficult for Emmanuel Charpentier, one of the two winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, to publish because no one was interested in infectious diseases as long as there was no epidemic." This is what Prof. Harmona Sorek from the Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University says in an interview with the Scientist website, who is happy with the decision of the Wolff Prize Committee a few months ago to award Emmanuel Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna with the Wolff Prize.

It should be noted that the Wolff Prize was announced many months before the Nobel announcement, since after winning the Nobel Prize it is forbidden to compete for the Wolff Prize.

"This is a collaboration between two researchers. Emmanuelle Charpentier is an expert in infectious diseases. According to her, she was not treated that much, because no one treats infectious diseases if there is no epidemic. She was not able to publish in important journals and was not able to win important research grants. "

Charpentier discovered an immune mechanism that bacteria use to protect themselves from viruses. The discovery became important when she developed a collaboration with an American researcher named Jennifer Dowdana who is an expert in genetic engineering in cells of mammalian origin. Together, the two managed to show that it is possible to copy the immune mechanism of the bacteria into human cells as well. The development immediately became a technology of medical significance. Suddenly it is possible, for example, to delete harmful mutations. They applied for a patent. At the same time, the Broad Institute in Boston immediately realized how important this was. They ran a parallel project and applied for a patent and to this day there is a patent fight between the research institute from Boston and the University of Berkeley where Dowdana works."

Another interesting point about the technology that sparked interest was a publication by a Chinese researcher, He Jiankui from the Shenzhen University of Science and Technology, at a scientific conference in which he announced that he had performed genetic editing in seven pairs of embryos during fertility treatments, which led to one successful pregnancy. According to him, his goal was not to cure or prevent a hereditary disease, but to give fetuses immunity against the AIDS virus. The fear is that the technology is not yet ripe for use in humans because its effects are not fully known, it may have really solved the problem and given them immunity from contracting AIDS but may have caused other damages that will be known in the future. The Chinese authorities disowned him and even imprisoned him. This case makes it clear how important it is to be careful with these new technologies. In this context, Doudna is also very involved in committees that take care of the rights of people who will use the technology on them.

After recognizing the importance of the tool based on her research, Charpentier received an offer, which she gladly accepted, to head the Max Planck Institute for Infectious Diseases in Berlin, which is a great opportunity for her to develop all the technologies she is an expert in with the resources of the Max Planck Institute. She now has the opportunity to flourish in applying the expertise she has acquired."

Is Crisper used to fight Corona?

Charpentier and Daudena are involved in several projects of companies that develop these technologies to fight against Corona. Among other things, they develop a home test, so that everyone can check in the morning that they are not infected and go quietly to work. And of course protection should be adopted not only against this virus but also against other viruses."

In conclusion, Prof. Sorek says: "CRISPR is an amazing discovery but its development needs to be scrutinized at every stage to ensure that no mistakes are made as a result of the technology being put into practice."

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• Nobel laureate Prof. Dan Shechtman: "Penrose has an indirect connection to my discovery" The winners in chemistry developed an "explosive" in biology
• The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2020 was awarded to the scientists who developed the "genetic numbers" CRISPR immediately after winning the Wolff
• The Crisper keys win the 2020 Wolf Prize in Medicine - the reasons for the prize committee