A crack in creation was written by Jennifer Doudna, a biochemist, and Samuel Stenberg, her postgraduate student. The book talks about the discovery of a new gene editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9. This pioneering technology was discovered by Jennifer Doudna, an American biochemist, and Emmanuelle Charpentier, a French microbiologist. Their collaboration in discovering this technology has awarded them with the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They are the first women scientists to win the Nobel Prize in that category without any male collaborator. This book provides us with the information of how the idea of CRISPR-Cas9 came to be and what makes it a powerful gene editing tool.
This book provided me a lot of insight regarding how much effort and time put in by these scientists to create a new technology that would benefit all of humanity. CRISPR-Cas9 is basically a pair molecular scissors. Its is a unique technology that enables geneticists and medical researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence. It is currently the simplest, most versatile and precise method of genetic manipulation when compared to its predecessor.
The evolution of gene editing technology was also mentioned in the book. Previous technology would have cost a fortune which makes it difficult to do research but with CRISPR-Cas9, it is relatively cheaper. This technology brings us one step closer to eradicate virtually any disease on the planet, produce stronger crops and more genetically modified livestock so the world will never go hungry but everything great comes with its counterpart. When Robert Oppenheimer released the first atomic bomb onto the world a Hindu scripture ran through his mind, "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds", or a famous comic book quote 'great power comes with great responsibility'. These quotes perfectly describes the power of CRISPR-Cas9 and the weight that rests on Jennifer Doudna's and Emmanuelle Charpentier's shoulders.
This technology can make any sci-fi hero or villain become reality, your only limit is your imagination.