S2 #3 Genomics: Cracking and Editing the Code
“We finally have a way of making an organism resistant to all viruses.” - George Church
Gene editing, complete virus resistance, longer healthspans, reversing ageing - these are no longer concepts consigned to the pages of science fiction, but real research that host Bruno Giussani explores in this episode. Jennifer Doudna, who shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her foundational work on the gene-editing technology CRISPR, talks about the first 10 years of CRISPR and the possibilities created by its combination with artificial intelligence. George Church, considered the founding father of genomics, shares some of his latest research that could lead to making us resistant to all pathogenic viruses and expand our healthspan. Abasi Ene-Obong, CEO of startup 54Gene in Nigeria, describes his work to make sure African genetic data become better represented in the field.