The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson

Isaacson chronicled the work of 2020 Nobel Prize chemistry winners Drs. Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier who discovered the CRISPR/ Cas9 "genetic scissors" in our DNA which bacteria have utilized to survive billions of years to fight viruses.

Growing up in the '60s in Hilo, Hawaii, Doudna was intrigued by the folding grass plant. Why do the leaves close when touched? Her persistent curiosity and determination with the support of her father and a  biologist family friend encouraged her to pursue science despite not having the support of her high school counselor and college advisor.

Doudna and her colleagues worked on a vaccine for COVID using CRISPR in our RNA to chop up the virus instead of the traditional route of copying the genetic code of the virus to build antibodies like the flu vaccine. Besides James Watson, she credited female role models before her like Rosalind Franklin, who had also contributed to the discovery of the DNA structure.

The book is an eye-opening read for me in the nature of competitive science and the intellectual properties and patents protected by institutions and universities. Also, where should the line be drawn in bioethics regarding the use of the CRISPR technology?