All Hail The Gene Queen
YOU South Africa|10 December 2020
Jennifer Doudna has just won the Nobel Prize in chemistry – her discovery of Crispr, the groundbreaking gene-editing tool, is already revolutionising the treatment of disease. But does this brave new world mean a generation of designer superbabies?
Tom Whipple
All Hail The Gene Queen

When Jennifer Doudna woke up, she realised her phone had been buzzing on and off for some time. It was still dark outside her home in California. In fact, her phone told her that it was 3am. It didn’t cross her mind that in Sweden, it was midday.

She answered. In the blurriness of her waking, she says she did not have an inkling why the world was so keen to speak to her at such a strange time on the first Wednesday in October.

“It was a reporter from Nature magazine. ‘Sorry to bother you so early’, she said. ‘I’d like to ask you your response to the Nobel.’ I thought she was asking me about someone else winning. I said, ‘I don’t know. I’ve just woken up’.”

Unlike almost all other scientific prizes, Nobels are only decided on the morning of the prize. If the committee cannot reach the winners in an hour, they announce regardless.

In Sweden, the Nobel committee had already read out Jennifer’s citation. If she had been listening, she would have learnt she had shared the prize with a French scientist and long-time collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier, “for the development of a method for genome editing”.

Another way of describing their work – work that has revolutionised genetics arguably faster than any discovery in history – is that it has given humans the power to control their own evolution.

“Oh my gosh!” said the reporter, realising she’d just broken the news. “You don’t know.”

What follows is a classic example of a perennial feel-good science story: the newly minted laureate in the wrong time zone.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der 10 December 2020-Ausgabe von YOU South Africa.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der 10 December 2020-Ausgabe von YOU South Africa.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS YOU SOUTH AFRICAAlle anzeigen
BALLON IN THE BAG
YOU South Africa

BALLON IN THE BAG

Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football

time-read
4 Minuten  |
14 November 2024
IT WAS ALL A LIE
YOU South Africa

IT WAS ALL A LIE

A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story

time-read
5 Minuten  |
14 November 2024
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
YOU South Africa

'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'

After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
14 November 2024
AGREE TO DISAGREE
YOU South Africa

AGREE TO DISAGREE

Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book

time-read
4 Minuten  |
14 November 2024
PAUSE THE CLOCK
YOU South Africa

PAUSE THE CLOCK

Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down

time-read
5 Minuten  |
14 November 2024
MPOOMY ON TOP
YOU South Africa

MPOOMY ON TOP

We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success

time-read
4 Minuten  |
14 November 2024
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
YOU South Africa

MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME

Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court

time-read
4 Minuten  |
14 November 2024
MATT THE RECLUSE
YOU South Africa

MATT THE RECLUSE

A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight

time-read
4 Minuten  |
14 November 2024
A LEAP OF FAITH
YOU South Africa

A LEAP OF FAITH

After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love

time-read
5 Minuten  |
14 November 2024
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
YOU South Africa

THEY'RE MY KIDS!

This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it

time-read
4 Minuten  |
14 November 2024