The Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology is excited by the announcement of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry being awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier (France/Germany) and Jennifer Doudna (USA) for their discovery of a bacterial immune system that allows DNA of living cells to be analysed and modified. This is the first time the Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded exclusively to women. The discovery has revolutionized many fields in the life sciences such as molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, biochemistry and biotechnology. CRISPR-Cas technology may help to cure genetic diseases in humans, animals and plants and is already helping to accelerate research in many fields - including those at the University of Pretoria. For more detailed information please refer to the following article. Read more