The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

“The invention of CRISPR and the plague of COVID will hasten our transition to the third great revolution of modern times. These revolutions arose from the discovery, beginning just over a century ago, of the three fundamental kernels of our existence: the atom, the bit, and the gene.”

Humanity is now at the frontier of the third great scientific revolution of modern times, one occurring in the fields of genetics and biotechnology. Once an esoteric concept, genetic science is now poised to enter everyday life, much like computer science. The greatest implications of the spread of the third revolution is that people will soon be able to read and rewrite not just digital but also genetic code.

“We all see nature’s wonders every day, whether it be a plant that moves or a sunset that reaches with pink fingers into a sky of deep blue. The key to true curiosity is pausing to ponder the causes. What makes a sky blue or a sunset pink or a leaf of sleeping grass curl?”

One of the most important themes of The Code Breaker is the wonder that nature inspires. However, the text doesn’t stop at marveling at nature’s miracles; it prioritizes figuring out how these miracles work. Jennifer Doudna’s life as a scientist is testimony to the fact that true curiosity inspires invention. As a child, Doudna stopped to ponder the root cause behind each natural phenomenon she observed. As a chemist, she still carries that childlike sense of curious wonder, chasing the how and why of phenomenon to the deepest level. It is important to know how CRISPRs work and to discover what happens to tracrRNA after it creates crRNA. Ever-deepening curiosity molds scientists into visionaries.