Subject(s)
Anniversaries and Special Events , Immune Tolerance , Nobel Prize , Female , History, 20th Century , Humans , Placenta , PregnancyABSTRACT
Over the past three decades, after Nobel prizes, Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka characterized G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) structure [...].
Subject(s)
Nobel Prize , Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled , Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/chemistryABSTRACT
The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Ardem Patapoutian and David Julius for their research on receptor channels responsible for the perception of touch and temperature. Somatosensation, an overarching sense that enables us to safely interface with the physical forces around and within us, is the fourth sensory modality to be recognized by the Nobel Committee. The story of the discovery of TRP and PIEZO channels, and subsequent investigations into their myriad roles in the perception of noxious and mild temperature, touch, pain, pressure and body position, is an archetype for how translational research into human and animal health is built on a foundation of excellence in basic science.
Subject(s)
Medicine , Nobel Prize , Physiology , Touch/physiology , Animals , Mechanoreceptors/metabolism , Mice, Knockout , TemperatureSubject(s)
Biomedical Research , COVID-19 Vaccines , Nobel Prize , Politics , Vaccines, Synthetic , Humans , Time FactorsSubject(s)
COVID-19 Vaccines , Drug Industry/history , Research Personnel/history , Research/history , Vaccines, Synthetic/history , Animals , Clinical Trials as Topic , Drug Industry/economics , Genetic Therapy/history , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , Liposomes , Mice , Nanoparticles/chemistry , Neoplasms/genetics , Neoplasms/immunology , Neoplasms/therapy , Nobel Prize , Patents as Topic/history , Pseudouridine/metabolism , RNA/biosynthesis , RNA/genetics , RNA Stability , Rabbits , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/chemistry , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology , Toll-Like Receptors/immunology , Vaccines, DNA/history , Vaccines, Synthetic/adverse effects , Vaccines, Synthetic/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Since it was first recognized in bacteria and archaea as a mechanism for innate viral immunity in the early 2010s, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) has rapidly been developed into a robust, multifunctional genome editing tool with many uses. Following the discovery of the initial CRISPR/Cas-based system, the technology has been advanced to facilitate a multitude of different functions. These include development as a base editor, prime editor, epigenetic editor, and CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) and CRISPR activator (CRISPRa) gene regulators. It can also be used for chromatin and RNA targeting and imaging. Its applications have proved revolutionary across numerous biological fields, especially in biomedical and agricultural improvement. As a diagnostic tool, CRISPR has been developed to aid the detection and screening of both human and plant diseases, and has even been applied during the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. CRISPR/Cas is also being trialed as a new form of gene therapy for treating various human diseases, including cancers, and has aided drug development. In terms of agricultural breeding, precise targeting of biological pathways via CRISPR/Cas has been key to regulating molecular biosynthesis and allowing modification of proteins, starch, oil, and other functional components for crop improvement. Adding to this, CRISPR/Cas has been shown capable of significantly enhancing both plant tolerance to environmental stresses and overall crop yield via the targeting of various agronomically important gene regulators. Looking to the future, increasing the efficiency and precision of CRISPR/Cas delivery systems and limiting off-target activity are two major challenges for wider application of the technology. This review provides an in-depth overview of current CRISPR development, including the advantages and disadvantages of the technology, recent applications, and future considerations.
Subject(s)
CRISPR-Cas Systems , Gene Editing/methods , Genetic Therapy , Plant Breeding , Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats , Crops, Agricultural/genetics , Humans , Nobel PrizeABSTRACT
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is a prestigious award given every year for ostensibly the most important discovery in the field. Prizes in Medicine have typically gone to honor foundational knowledge rather than measurable impact. Two recent examples from global health (a rotavirus vaccine, child growth standards) offer alternatives for what might be lauded in medicine. These two examples and historical achievements regarding cholera and smallpox are worthy but do not fall within the scope of Nobel awards for Peace or Economics. The COVID-19 pandemic gives a new context for the idea that discovery and implementation are both keys to medicine. New patterns that redefine achievement in medicine could emerge by Nobel Prize precedent to promote greater health equity and international collaboration.