The Code Breaker

By Walter Isaacson

I urge you to take a break from the panoply of heart-breaking, anxiety producing events presented to us in the daily media and focus instead upon a mind-bending miracle:  the discovery and launch of the CRISPR revolution.  Walter Isaacson, a biographer of Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs and Leonardo da Vinci, returns to the themes of thinking outside of the box, science and genius to bring us the detailed story of Jennifer Doudna, the code breaker of the book’s title.  However, she is only part of Isaacson’s story, as he introduces us to the world of medical science and of the trials and tribulations of  those who devote themselves selflessly to ground breaking research.

Crisper-Cas9, the scientific name, originated in a system that has evolved in bacteria to protect them from invading viruses.  Although bacteria invented the technique, the collaborate efforts of Doudna, a biochemist at the University of California, Berkeley, and Emmanuelle Charpentier, a French microbiologist, earned them the Nobel prize in chemistry in 2020. Isaacson deftly leads us down the convoluted path that led the two women to the prize. In so doing, he introduces us to the work of other scientists that fueled Doudna and Charpentier’s insight.  He also helps us to understand the basic science of the discovery and the resulting ethical dilemmas that CRISPR has brought to center stage.  This is fascinating tale, well told, that will capture the fancy of anyone interested in our genetic destiny.

Susan Barron