Hacking the Code of Life

by Nessa Carey

  At the time of writing, the Broad Institute is winning in the patent battle against Berkeley and Vienna. In the less formal realm of scientific opinion, though, it seems that the reverse is true. Doudna and Charpentier are ahead of Zhang in the peer-approval ratings. They shared the 2018 $1 million Kavli Prize, along with Virginijus Šikšnys.9 In 2015 both women won the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences10 and in the same year they were awarded the Gruber Prize in Genetics.11 Feng Zhang hasn’t been forgotten. In 2016 he shared the Gairdner Prize with the two women12 and the trio has also won other awards together.

  What about The Big One? A Nobel Prize for gene editing is a case of ‘when’ not ‘if’. No more than three people can win the Nobel for a single breakthrough. Doudna and Charpentier are the clear favourites, so who, if anyone, will be the third? Feng Zhang or Virginijus Šikšnys? Someone else entirely? It’s not too soon for the award. Shinya Yamanaka won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Medicine for work he published in 2006.13 But the ways of the Nobel Committee are strange and opaque. They could wait decades, to see if a consensus emerges. They could equally wait just as long until there are only three major players standing, as the Nobel Prize is never awarded posthumously. But if you can find a bookie to take your bet, a little flutter in the names of Doudna and Charpentier could well be worth your money.

  Where do we go from here?

  The gene editing revolution is creating a technological toolkit that almost any half-decent scientist can lean into and find something useful. On the one hand, that should make us very excited. We can both solve problems and simply indulge our curiosity. But should it also make us worried? Using chisels and a mallet, Michelangelo created some of the most exquisite sculptures we have ever seen. But give the same heavy, sharp tools to someone else, and we can get a very different and much bloodier outcome.

  Some commentators have already suggested nefarious uses of gene editing technology, such as criminals using it to change their DNA so they no longer match records from their crime scenes. This is actually very far-fetched and unlikely to work. But that’s not to say that there aren’t potentially negative applications. It wouldn’t be that difficult to use gene editing to transform benign bacteria into ones with a high degree of danger for humans or livestock. These could be used as biological warfare agents or simply to extort money from vulnerable industries or governments.

  But the same technology can also be used to alleviate human suffering, and if we are smart enough, lessen the impact that our heavy-footed species has on the only planet we know of in the entire universe that supports complex life. We cannot un-invent this technology, we probably can’t even control its spread. So what choice do we really have but to embrace it and use it well, to create a safer, more equal world for all?

  Notes

  1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/disputed-crispr-patents-stay-with-broad-institute-u-s-panel-rules/

  2. https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_138455

  3. https://www.the-scientist.com/the-nutshell/epo-revokes-broads-crispr-patent-30400

  4. https://www.statnews.com/2016/08/16/crispr-patent-fight-legal-bills-soaring/

  5. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/editas-commits-125m-to-broad-secure-source-genome-editing-inventions

  6. Lander, E.S. ‘The Heroes of CRISPR’. Cell (14 January 2016); 164(1–2): 18–28.

  7. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-embarrassing-destructive-fight-over-biotech-s-big-breakthrough/

  8. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-embarrassing-destructive-fight-over-biotech-s-big-breakthrough/

  9. https://www.statnews.com/2018/05/31/crispr-scientists-kavli-prize-nanoscience/

  10. https://breakthroughprize.org/Laureates/2/P1/Y2015

  11. https://gruber.yale.edu/prize/2015-gruber-genetics-prize

  12. https://gairdner.org/2016-canada-gairdner-award-winners/

  13. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2012/press-release/

  * A partner of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

  INDEX

  A

  A&F University (Shaanxi) 1

  adult haemoglobin 1

  agave plant 1

  Alicante, University of 1

  Allergan 1

  Alzheimer’s disease 1

  amphibians, gene editing in 1

  anaemia 1

  animals gene editing in 1

  healing power 1

  antibiotics 1, 2, 3

  antibodies, creation 1

  antihistamines 1, 2, 3

  Asimov, Isaac 1

  aspartame 1

  aspirin 1, 2, 3

  Australia 1

  autism 1

  Avery, Oswald 1

  axolotls 1

  azathioprine 1

  B

  bacteria drug production in 1

  genetic engineering in 1

  bases 1

  bats 1

  beers 1

  bees 1

  Belgian Blue cattle 1

  Berg, Paul 1

  beta-carotene 1

  beta-interferon 1

  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 1

  biohackers 1

  biological drugs 1

  biological warfare 1

  birth rates 1

  blindness 1, 2

  blood, feeding on 1, 2

  blood transfusion 1

  bloodstream 1

  bone marrow 1, 2, 3

  bovine tuberculosis 1

  Boyer, Herbert 1, 2

  brain 1

  Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences 1

  breast cancer 1

  Broad Institute (Cambridge, Massachusetts) 1, 2, 3

  Brown, Louise 1

  brown adipose tissue 1

  buckeye butterfly 1

  butterflies 1

  C

  California, University of see University of California

  Cambridge, University of 1

  cancer 1, 2, 3, 4

  cane beetles 1

  cane toads 1

  carbon dioxide 1

  carbon footprint 1

  cardiovascular disease 1

  Caribou Biosciences 1

  cassava 1

  cats 1

  cattle 1, 2 Belgian Blue 1

  Piedmont 1

  Cayman Islands 1, 2

  CCR5 1

  Cell journal 1

  Charpentier, Emmanuelle 1, 2, 3, 4

  chickens, eggs 1

  China 1, 2

  Chinese Academy of Sciences 1

  cholesterol 1

  Church, George 1, 2

  climate change 1, 2

  clinical trials 1, 2

  clonal raider ant 1

  cloning 1, 2

  coeliac disease 1

  Cohen, Stanley 1, 2

  Columbia University 1

  congenital hypothyroidism 1

  corneal transplants 1

  Cornell University 1

  Cosmo Bio 1

  Creutzfeld-Jakob disease 1

  Crick, Francis 1

  CRISPR 1

  CRISPR-Cas 1 2

  CRISPR Therapeutics 1, 2

  Curie, Pierre 1

  cystic fibrosis 1

  D

  DARPA 1

  Darwin, Charles 1

  DDT 1

  deafness 1

  death rates 1

  dengue fever 1, 2

  desertification 1

  designer babies 1

  detoxification 1

  diabetes type 1 1

  type 2 1

  disability, who defines? 1

  DNA 1, 2, 3 damaging 1

  mitochondrial 1

  nuclear 1

  structure 1

  Dolly the Sheep 1, 2

  dominant genetic disorders 1

  doublesex gene 1

  Doudna, Jennifer 1, 2, 3, 4

  dragonflies 1, 2

  drugs costs 1, 2

  safety 1

  Duchenne muscular dystrophy 1, 2
/>
  Duchesneau, Sharon 1

  E

  E. coli bacteria 1

  Editas Medicine 1, 2

  eggs 1, 2 chicken 1

  human 1, 2

  mosquito 1, 2, 3

  Eli Lilly 1

  Elion, Gertrude 1

  elms 1

  Elsanta strawberry 1

  embryos 1 moratorium on working with 1

  three-parent 1

  enzyme scissors 1

  epidermis 1

  epigenetic modifications 1

  Equality Act 2010 1

  erectile dysfunction 1

  ethics, of germline gene editing 1, 2

  eugenics 1

  European Food Safety Authority 1

  European Patent Office 1

  European Union, and GM crops 1

  eyes 1

  eyesight 1

  F

  farming 1

  Fertile Crescent 1

  flu vaccine 1

  foetal haemoglobin 1

  food 1 new crop varieties 1

  wasted 1, 2, 3

  Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 1, 2

  Franklin, Rosalind 1

  Friendly Mosquito 1

  Friends of the Earth 1

  G

  Gairdner Prize 1

  gene drive 1, 2

  gene editing in amphibians 1

  in animals 1

  commercial value 1

  efficiency 1, 2

  fame from 1

  future 1

  germline see germline gene editing

  how it works 1

  in humans 1

  in insects 1, 2

  in mosquitoes 1

  negative applications 1

  in plants 1

  in rodents 1

  to treat disease 1

  trials 1, 2

  Genentech 1

  genes, first use of word 1

  genetic disorders 1 dominant 1

  recessive 1

  single gene 1, 2

  genetic engineering, arrival 1

  genetic modification 1

  genomes 1 cutting and pasting 1

  species sequenced 1

  Genus PIC 1

  germ cells 1

  germline gene editing 1 cui bono? 1

  ethics 1, 2

  legal considerations 1

  gluten proteins 1

  GM crops/foods 1, 2

  goats 1, 2

  Golden Rice 1

  gout 1

  Greenpeace 1

  growth hormone 1

  Gruber Prize in Genetics 1

  Guardian of the Genome 1

  guide molecule 1, 2

  H

  haemoglobin 1 adult 1

  foetal 1

  Harvard Medical School 1

  He Jiankui 1, 2, 3, 4

  health economics 1, 2

  heart attacks 1

  heel prick test 1

  Helicobacter pylori 1

  hereditary angioedema 1

  heredity 1

  HIV-1 1

  hops 1

  hormone deficiency 1

  hormone replacement therapy 1

  humans gene editing in 1

  genetic disorders in see genetic disorders

  genome sequence 1

  Hunter’s syndrome 1, 2

  Huntington’s disease 1, 2, 3

  I

  immune cells 1

  immune defenders 1

  immunity adaptive 1

  bacterial 1

  Imperial College London 1

  influenza 1 vaccine 1

  informed consent 1

  insecticides 1

  insects, gene editing in 1, 2

  Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science (Tsukuba) 1

  insulin 1, 2, 3

  intellectual property 1, 2

  iridescence 1

  irradiation 1

  IVF 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  J

  Johannsen, Wilhelm 1

  K

  Kanuma 1

  Kavli Prize 1

  Kennedy, John F. 1

  Kenya 1

  kidneys 1

  King’s College London 1

  Komodo dragons 1, 2

  L

  The Lancet 1

  Lander, Eric 1

  Latin America, invasion by Europeans 1

  learning disability 1

  Leber’s congenital amaurosis 1

  Leigh syndrome 1

  Lepidoptera 1

  Lesch-Nylan syndrome 1

  life expectancy 1

  Linnaeus, Carl 1

  liver 1, 2

  London Underground 1

  Lulu 1

  M

  macular degeneration 1

  Madeux, Brian 1

  maize 1

  malaria 1, 2, 3

  Marraffini, Luciano 1

  Marshall, Barry 1

  ‘matching’ 1

  McCullough, Candy 1

  measles 1

  meat consumption 1

  lean 1

  medical self-experimentation 1

  melanin 1

  Mendel, Gregor 1

  Merino sheep 1

  mice 1, 2

  Michelangelo 1

  mitochondria 1

  MMR vaccine 1

  Mojica, Francisco 1

  mosquitoes 1, 2 Friendly Mosquito 1

  moths 1

  mouse cell lines, gene editing in 1

  multiple sclerosis 1, 2

  muscle development 1, 2

  muscle wasting 1, 2

  mushrooms 1

  mutations 1, 2

  myostatin gene 1, 2

  N

  Nana 1

  narcolepsy 1

  National Institute for Health and Care Excellence 1

  Nature Methods 1

  neonicotinoids 1

  neurodegeneration 1, 2

  neurons 1

  New Hope Fertility Centre (New York) 1

  New Zealand 1

  Nixon, Richard 1

  Nobel Prize 1

  O

  oral contraceptives 1

  organ transplantation 1, 2

  over-consumption 1, 2

  Oxitec 1

  oxygen 1, 2

  P

  p53 1

  paracetamol 1

  Parkinson’s disease 1

  Parton, Dolly 1

  patents 1, 2

  peas 1

  peer review 1

  Perdue, Sonny 1

  pesticides 1

  pharmaceuticals 1

  phenylketonuria (PKU) 1

  Piedmont cattle 1

  pigs 1, 2, 3, 4 organ transplants from 1

  pituitary gland 1

  plant cells 1

  plants first gene-edited 1

  gene editing in 1

  speeding up breeding 1

  polio 1

  pollinating insects 1

  population, world 1

  potatoes 1

  pre-implantation genetic diagnosis 1

  pre-natal testing 1

  Predator Free 2050 1

  prickly pear cactus 1

  privileged sites 1

  proteins 1

  PRRSV 1

  Purdue University (Indiana) 1

  Pusztai, Árpád 1

  R

  rabbits 1, 2

  radiation 1, 2

  raptors 1

  rats 1, 2

  recessive genetic disorders 1

  red blood cells 1

  regenerative medicine 1

  research flawed 1

  investments in 1

  retinitis pigmentosa 1

  rheumatoid arthritis 1, 2

  rice Golden 1

  yields 1

  Riley, Eleanor 1

  risk, assessing 1, 2

  RNA 1, 2

  Rochester, University of 1

  Rockefeller University (New York) 1

  rodents 1

  Roslin Institute 1

  Royal Society 1

  S

  sa
fety, drug 1

  salinity 1

  Sangamo Therapeutics 1

  schizophrenia 1

  Science journal 1, 2, 3

  scissors 1

  self-mutilation 1

  sheep 1 Merino 1

  Texel 1

  Shiant Isles 1

  sickle cell disease 1, 2, 3, 4

  sign languages 1

  Šikšnys, Virginijus 1

  single gene disorders 1, 2

  sketching gene 1

  skin blistering 1

  sleeper agents 1

  small molecules 1, 2

  snakebites 1

  South Georgia 1

  space programme 1

  spacers 1

  sperm 1, 2, 3, 4 mosquito 1

  spinal cord regeneration 1

  St John’s wort 1

  Stanford University (California) 1, 2

  statins 1, 2, 3

  stem cells 1, 2

  stick insects 1

  Stockholm 1

  stomach ulcers 1

  strawberries 1

  strokes 1

  structural colouration 1

  suicide genes 1

  super-beings 1

  Surani, Azim 1

  T

  tetracycline 1

  Texel sheep 1

  thalassemias 1, 2, 3

  U

  UCP1 gene 1

  UK, three-parent procedures 1

  University of California, Berkeley 1, 2, 3, 4

  University of California, San Diego 1

  University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) 1, 2

  uric acid 1

  US Department of Agriculture 1, 2, 3

  US Patent Office 1