Let’s start this article off with a fact: all women are capable of ingenuity, innovation, excellence, fantastic skill, and so much more. Basically, women possess tons of ability for greatness.
Unfortunately though, despite being almost 2021, it’s still a man’s world in some ways. For example, according to the World Economic Forum, female students and employees are underrepresented in STEM-related fields. Only about 30 percent of the world’s researchers are women, and less than a third of female students pick majors like math or engineering when achieving a higher education.
These two are now able to add their names to a tragically short list of women who have also won Nobel Prizes. As shown on The Nobel Prize organization’s website, only 57 women have won prizes between 1901 and 2020. This list started with Marie Curie, who is also the only woman that has been honored twice, with the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
While those 57 women have made marvelous accomplishments, they still only account for a small portion of Nobel Prize winners. Keep in mind, the Nobel Prize has been awarded 597 times. I am looking forward to the day this number starts to even out–especially since women are just becoming more and more empowered to take charge of their futures.
So, what did Charpentier and Doudna do to win their prize? Well, according to this press release, these two developed “one of gene technology’s sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors.” Called CRISPR for short, this tool allows scientists to edit DNA with high precision. In theory, this tool could allow for certain hereditary diseases like sickle cell disease, some cancers, blindness, and so on to be literally cut out of a person’s genome to cure them. In real time, researchers have been using this method to modify the genomes of plants, animals, and microorganisms. For example, this tool has enabled scientists to make crops that are resistant to drought or to sterilize mosquitoes that may carry diseases like malaria. So, there’s no telling what could happen as the technique becomes further developed.
The idea behind Charpentier and Doudna’s “genetic scissors” is truly epic. My only hope is that these two not only become examples for young women everywhere, but also become inspirations for those who are aspiring scientists.
Clearly, the world needs to learn about the technologies that women are developing. Besides, who knows what sort of amazing discoveries are out there…just waiting for someone to come along and discover them!