發(fā)現(xiàn)CRISPR基因編輯工具“改寫生命密碼”的科學家獲諾貝爾化學獎

發(fā)現(xiàn)CRISPR基因編輯工具“改寫生命密碼”的科學家獲諾貝爾化學獎

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for the development of a method for genome editing.

艾曼紐·夏彭蒂耶和詹妮弗·A·杜德納因開發(fā)出一種基因組編輯方法而獲得諾貝爾化學獎。

They discovered one of gene technology's sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and micro-organisms with extremely high precision.

他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了基因技術(shù)最鋒利的工具之一：CRISPR/Cas9基因剪刀。利用這些技術(shù)，研究人員可以極其精確地改變動物、植物和微生物的DNA。

Before announcing the winners on Wednesday, Göran K. Hansson, secretary-general for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said that this year's prize was about "rewriting the code of life."

在周三宣布獲獎者之前，瑞典皇家科學院秘書長戈蘭·K·漢森說，今年的獎項是關(guān)于“改寫生命密碼”的。

The American biochemist Jennifer A. Doudna (left) and French microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier, pictured together in 2016.

2016年，美國生物化學家詹妮弗·A·杜德納(左)和法國微生物學家艾曼紐·夏彭蒂耶在一起合影。

The CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tools have revolutionized the molecular life sciences, brought new opportunities for plant breeding, are contributing to innovative cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true, according to a press release from the Nobel committee.

根據(jù)諾貝爾委員會的一份新聞稿，CRISPR/Cas9基因編輯工具已經(jīng)徹底改變了分子生命科學，為植物育種帶來了新的機遇，正在為創(chuàng)新的癌癥療法做出貢獻，并可能使治愈遺傳疾病的夢想成為現(xiàn)實。

There have also been some ethical concerns around the CRISPR technology, however.

然而，圍繞CRISPR技術(shù)也存在一些倫理問題。

Charpentier, a French microbiologist, and Doudna, an American biochemist, are the first women to jointly win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and the sixth and seventh women to win the chemistry prize.

法國微生物學家夏彭蒂耶和美國生物化學家杜德納是第一次聯(lián)合獲得諾貝爾化學獎的女性，也是第六和第七位獲得諾貝爾化學獎的女性。

Charpentier said at a Wednesday news conference that she hoped the win sent a "positive message to the young girls who would like to follow the path of science, and to show them that women in science can also have an impact through the research that they are performing."

夏彭蒂耶在周三的新聞發(fā)布會上說，她希望這次獲獎“向那些想走科學道路的年輕女孩傳遞了一個積極的信息，并向她們展示，女性在科學領(lǐng)域也可以通過她們正在進行的研究產(chǎn)生影響。”

He said several groups of scientists had been collaborating on gene editing, making it hard to narrow it down to the Nobel Prize's maximum of three winners.

他表示，幾組科學家一直在合作進行基因編輯，這使得很難將其縮小到諾貝爾獎最多三名獲獎者。

Doudna and Charpentier are the first two women to jointly win the chemistry prize.

杜德納和夏彭蒂耶是首批聯(lián)合獲得化學獎的女性。

Speaking on the awarding of Wednesday's Nobel Prize, Dr. John Parrington, a lecturer in Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Oxford, said: "I think this is very well deserved indeed."

牛津大學細胞與分子藥理學講師約翰·帕靈頓在周三的諾貝爾獎頒獎典禮上說:“我認為這是當之無愧的。”

Parrington told the UK's Science Media Centre (SMC) that while a number of other scientists have made important contributions to this discovery, there was "no doubt" that Doudna and Charpentier played a key role in understanding the CRISPR/Cas mechanism, and how it might be developed as a genome editing tool.

帕靈頓告訴英國科學媒體中心(SMC)，盡管其他許多科學家為這一發(fā)現(xiàn)做出了重要貢獻，但“毫無疑問”， 杜德納和夏彭蒂耶在理解CRISPR/Cas機制以及如何將其開發(fā)為一種基因組編輯工具方面發(fā)揮了關(guān)鍵作用。

He added that CRISPR/Cas genome editing "has immense potential to transform our lives for the better but also raises many ethical and socio-political questions."

他補充說，CRISPR/Cas基因組編輯“在改善我們的生活方面具有巨大的潛力，但也引發(fā)了許多倫理和社會政治問題。”

Life's inner workings

生命的內(nèi)部運作

When Charpentier and Doudna investigated the immune system of a Streptococcus bacterium, they discovered a molecular tool that can be used to make precise incisions in genetic material.

當夏彭蒂耶和杜德納研究鏈球菌的免疫系統(tǒng)時，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種分子工具，可以用來在遺傳物質(zhì)上進行精確的切割。

They succeeded in recreating the bacteria's genetic scissors in a test tube and simplifying their molecular components so they were easier to use.

她們成功地在試管中再造了這種細菌的基因剪刀，并簡化了它們的分子組成，使它們更容易使用。

Sarah Norcross, director of the Progress Educational Trust, told the SMC the pair had "devised an unprecedentedly powerful and precise means of changing DNA sequences in living cells."

教育基金會主任莎拉·諾克羅斯告訴SMC，她們兩人“設計了一種前所未有的強大和精確的方法來改變活細胞中的DNA序列。”