JOIN USThis year’s Nobel prizes in chemistry and physics were remarkable for their acknowledgement of the role of women in scientific research. One important criticism about Nobel awards, especially in science, is that they have not always recognised the contributions of women. In the entire history of Nobel awards, only 20 women have got the prizes in all the sciences put together. Considering this poor record, the award of the chemistry prize to two women and the physics prize to one as joint winners is commendable. Scientific achievements are not to be judged on the basis of gender, but the criticism is that their recognition has sometimes been influenced by gender biases. That is why this year’s awards are particularly welcome, and hopefully, the welcome trend will be sustained in future.
The chemistry prize was jointly awarded to French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer A Doudna for their discovery of the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology. Another important feature of the award is that it has been given to a discovery which is only about six years old. Nobel awards are usually given for discoveries made decades before. So, the early recognition given to CRISPR-Cas9 technology underlines its value and importance. Using the technology, the DNA of animals, plants and micro-organisms can be changed with extremely high precision. Modification of genes used to be very difficult and time-consuming, but it can now be done easily with the new tool. It has a revolutionary impact on life sciences and can lead to new medical treatmeEmmanuelle Charpentier nts, as in cancer therapy, and to new processes and techniques in agriculture. It has already contributed to some discoveries in basic sciences and applications in various areas.
The prize in physics was awarded to Roger Penrose, who gets half the prize, and to Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez, for their work on black holes. Andrea Ghez is only the fourth woman to receive the prize in physics. Penrose theorised, with the help of mathematics in the 1960s, that black holes were an inevitable consequence of Einstein’s theory of relativity and threw light on some of the universe's most exotic and strangest objects. Genzel and Ghez discovered the existence of a black hole at the centre of our galaxy after many years of observation. Scientists’ knowledge of black holes has improved now, and the work of the three scientists has contributed much to it. But we are still in the dark about much of their working, as is the case with many other cosmic objects and phenomena. The prizes may therefore be taken also as pointers to the far horizons that remain to be lighted up.