Fellows of the RSB were invited to submit their nominations for the hottest bioscience topics of the year and recent research that has the power to change the world – with the top seven included in the December/January issue of The Biologist.
Topping the list was the use of gene-editing tools such as CRISPR-Cas9 in humans.
The technology allows scientists to make small and precise changes to DNA and is relatively straightforward to use compared to previous genetic engineering techniques.
Studies showed that disease-causing mutations could be accurately ‘edited’ out of human embryos using CRISPR, and at least two trials delivered gene-editing tools directly into the cells of patients to target the genetic causes of diseases such as Hunter syndrome and human papillomavirus (HPV).
Also on the magazine’s list was the remarkable discovery that human-like remains found in the Jebel Irhoud area of Morocco are 300,000 years old – 100,000 years older than the previous oldest human remains ever found.
If confirmed, the find dramatically counters the prevailing theory that modern humans emerged in East Africa around 200,000 years ago.
Tom Ireland, editor of The Biologist, said: “As expected, our list contains several remarkable innovations with the power to transform human health and society, as well as research that deepens our understanding of life on Earth.
“Yet our list also contains two landmark studies that have helped quantify, in detail, the disastrous effect human activity is having on the environment and ecosystems that support us.
“We received responses from across all areas of the biosciences – from embryology to forestry – but it is clear that gene editing, with tools such as CRISPR-Cas9, remains the hottest topic in the biosciences right now, especially as biomedical applications in humans start to be explored.”
The breakthroughs named by The Biologist for 2017 are:
- The use of gene-editing tools such as CRISPR-Cas9 in humans (examples include the use of CRISPR on human embryos and in adults)
- 300,000 year old human remains found in Jebel Irhoud, Morocco
- The Lancet’s ground-breaking report reveals the scale of the impact of pollution on heath: Pollution was named as the largest environmental cause of disease and death in the world today, responsible for an estimated nine million premature deaths.
- ‘Ecological Armageddon’: published in October, a 27-year study of 63 nature protection areas in Germany found that flying insect biomass had declined by three quarters over that period.
- CAR T-Cell immunotherapy reaches patients: the world’s first T-cell-based cancer therapy – which modifies individuals’ own immune cells to fight the disease – was approved this year for use in patients in the US.
- Nitrogen fixation in plants: various researchers worldwide have made significant progress in modifying common crops so they can utilise nitrogen from the atmosphere, reducing the need for expensive and environmentally damaging nitrogen-based fertilizers. This has been a goal of agricultural science for nearly 40 years.
- Microfossils and other traces of life estimated to be up to 4.2bn years old: researchers from Japan found evidence of ‘biogenic’ graphite particles in rocks that could be up to 3.95bn years old, while researchers at UCL described evidence of fossilised microorganisms found in hydrothermal vents that could be up to 4.2bn years old.
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