Walter Isaacson, who has written acclaimed biographies of physicist Albert Einstein, computer pioneer Steve Jobs and polymath Benjamin Franklin, has now turned his focus on biotechnology and one of today’s scientific luminaries: UC Berkeley biochemist Jennifer Doudna, winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
His new biography,
The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
, published this week by Simon & Schuster, delves into the world of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, which Isaacson calls “the third great revolution of modern times,” after that of the atom and digital computers.
During a visit to the Innovative Genomics Institute in September 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Isaacson sat down with Roxanne Makasdjian, director of broadcast communications at UC Berkeley’s Office of Communications and Public Affairs, to talk about his book, genome editing and the implications this technology has for the planet.
RELATED INFORMATION
- CBS Sunday Morning interview (Mar. 7, 2021)
- New York Times review (Mar. 8, 2021)
- UC Berkeley’s Jennifer Doudna wins 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (Oct. 7, 2020)
- First Day in a Nobel Life: Jennifer Doudna (Oc. 7, 2020)
- Jennifer Doudna’s Nobel Prize ceremony was a day to remember (Dec. 10, 2020)