The Bio Revolution has the potential to transform our lives, and genome editing—the ability to change the DNA sequence in a targeted way using CRISPR-Cas9, is one of the key innovations that has sparked imaginations while also raising its fair share of controversy. What is the origin of this technique? How do we weigh the enormous benefits against the potential risks? And what is its role in solving the global coronavirus pandemic? As part of the McKinsey Global Institute’s research on the Bio Revolution, partner Michael Chui spoke with Jennifer Doudna, PhD, one of the scientists who discovered the genome-editing technique CRISPR-Cas9 and leading proponent of its responsible use. Jennifer is a professor of molecular and cell biology and chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. The Doudna lab pursues a mechanistic understanding of fundamental biological processes involving RNA molecules. Michael Chui: Jennifer Doudna, thanks for joining us today. We want to cover a lot of different things today. But why don’t we start with where we are today. We’re in a unique biological moment, you might say. We’re recording this in mid-April 2020, and we’re sheltering in place. This is an event that’s affecting everyone. And I’d love to ask you about this. What has the COVID-19 pandemic been like for you? Jennifer Doudna: Like everyone, it’s a strange moment we’re in right now. It’s an odd experience to be sequestered at home doing what we can, both professionally and personally, to keep our sanity and possibly contribute to mitigating the effects of this disease. It’s a time when many of us are discovering things, or rediscovering things, about ourselves. I’ll give you an example for myself. I’m an avid gardener but I haven’t had any time to work in my garden for, I don’t know, six or seven years with all the craziness going on with CRISPR and work that I’ve been doing at the university. This past month or so has been an opportunity to reconnect with my garden, my flowers, and rediscover what it means to have a more of a balanced life. That’s the silver lining, I suppose, to this current moment. Professionally, it’s been an opportunity to pull together with colleagues and ask ourselves, “What can we do as scientists to address this current national and international emergency?” As you may know, we’ve been able to pull a team of scientists and computer specialists together at the Innovative Genomics Institute here in the Bay Area of California, to build a clinical testing lab that is now testing patient samples for the presence of the coronavirus. And in the future, we will also help some local teams to test new types of diagnostics that could eventually provide an at-home test for this and future viruses. It’s been a really extraordinary time in many ways. Michael Chui: Now, I think a lot of people who are listening probably have watched your TED Talk or, otherwise heard of CRISPR. But if you don’t mind can you explain what that technique is? Jennifer Doudna: CRISPR is a nice segue from talking about a pandemic caused by a virus, because CRISPR is, in fact, a bacterial immune system. It’s an ancient system that evolved in microbes to allow prevention of viral infection. Our interest in this started with that fundamental biology, asking, “How does this work?” We did a collaborative research project with Emmanuelle Charpentier, a medical microbiologist, and our work with her laboratory revealed that one of the components of this CRISPR immune system is, in fact, a protein that’s called Cas9, that can be programmed to find and cut virus DNA. ...

Hello Nature readers,Today we learn that China has joined the international vaccine coalition COVAX, enjoy rediscovering the work that won this year’s science Nobels and hear what Germany’s leading pandemic scientist says about what’s to come. China announced today that it will join COVAX, the international coalition that aims to fairly distribute COVID-19 vaccines. The effort — run by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations; and the World Health Organization — wants to provide 2 billion vaccine doses to the most-vulnerable people and to health-care workers, especially in poor countries. Some 80 wealthy countries have committed to support the initiative, with the notable exception of the United States. It is not clear yet whether China will commit money or vaccines, and how much. This week, a giant fire in northern California reached ‘gigafire’ status. It burnt more than one million acres over weeks — the largest wildfire the state has ever seen. “It makes up more than all of the fires that occurred between 1932 and 1999,” said Gavin Newsom, the state’s governor. “If that’s not proof-point testament to climate change, I don’t know what is.” California experienced its hottest August on record this year, after years of below-average rainfall. These factors contributed to ideal conditions for the worst fire season the state has ever recorded; 4 million acres have burnt so far. It’s Nobel’s week! Half the fun of which is rediscovering the work that has taken home the prize this year — and the fascinating scientists behind it. Microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier and biochemist Jennifer Doudna shared the chemistry Nobel for developing the precise genome-editing technology CRISPR. Virologists Harvey Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles Rice shared the medicine Nobel for research on hepatitis C, the virus responsible for many cases of hepatitis and liver disease. Mathematical physicist Roger Penrose shared the Nobel prize in physics with astronomers Andrea Ghez and Reinhard Genzel, who discovered a giant black hole in the centre of the Galaxy. This week, the Nature Podcast speaks to Lauren Wolf, the US bureau chief of Nature’s news team, and our US-based reporter Jeff Tollefson about why Nature must cover politics and what’s at stake in the upcoming US presidential election. “I think the short answer is: everything,” says Tollefson, who wrote a feature on how Trump damaged science, and why it could take decades to recover. The coronavirus pandemic has put a harsh spotlight on the connections between science, politics and policy, he says. “This touches on public health, it touches on just how science is used across the US government, it touches on issues of scientific integrity — and frankly it touches on issues of democracy.” Plus, the podcast explores whether maternal behaviours are learned or innate, and I drop in to chat about the Nobel winners. Virologist Christian Drosten, who is leading Germany’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, addresses everything from testing strategies to whether to eat inside a restaurant in a wide-ranging interview with Die Zeit. “I think we need to start preparing people now for a vaccine that may not be perfect,” he says. He also looks forward to returning to his normal life as an anonymous scientist. “I hope that people will then forget about me, that in a few years’ time, newspapers will write a ‘Where Are They Now?’ story about Christian Drosten.” Today, our favourite flightless adventurer is hiding out at the thermal springs of Pamukkale in southwest Turkey. Can you find Leif Penguinson? The answer will be in Monday’s e-mail, all thanks to Briefing photo editor and penguin wrangler Tom Houghton. Yesterday I wrote that chemist Mario Molina was Mexico’s only Nobel laureate. He was of course the country’s only science Nobel winner. Diplomat and politician Alfonso Garcia Robles was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1982, for his work on nuclear disarmament. And author and diplomat Octavio Paz won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1990. I’m sorry for the error and I’m grateful to all of you who flagged it. This newsletter is always evolving — tell us what you think! Please send your feedback to briefing@nature.com. Flora Graham, senior editor, Nature Briefing With contributions by Nicky Phillips ...

“The story did not end the way it was meant to,” Pope Francis wrote recently, deftly excommunicating about a half-century’s worth of economic ideology. In a striking, 43,000-word-long encyclical published last Sunday, the pope put his stamp on efforts to shape what's been termed a Great Reset of the global economy in response to the devastation of COVID-19. The “story” he’s referring to is neoliberalism, a philosophy espousing austerity, privatization, deregulation, unbridled markets, and relatively weak labour laws. While it’s been faithfully told through innumerable economists and policy-makers since the 1970s, and put into practice in prominent ways, the pope believes this tale has now worn thin. He is not alone. Neoliberalism’s free-market orthodoxy has been blamed for making health care systems and livelihoods especially vulnerable to the pandemic, and has drawn a clearer line under the need for active government intervention. Pope Francis criticizes the “dogma of neoliberal faith” in his encyclical, adding that “the fragility of world systems in the face of the pandemic has demonstrated that not everything can be resolved by market freedom.” He advocates for a political life not subject to the “dictates of finance,” and for making human dignity the focus of new, “alternative social structures.” The encyclical comes as many countries have seen new surges in coronavirus cases, and as the economic fallout continues to disproportionately affect frontline workers and the poor. Lower-middle income countries have been hit with the sharpest declines in working hours and labour income since the pandemic began, and an estimated 96 million people may now be pushed into extreme poverty by next year. The encyclical, entitled “Fratelli tutti” (“Brothers, all”), also calls for greater multilateral cooperation among countries, and urges a reform of the United Nations – so the “concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth,” and the weakest among them can be guaranteed basic freedoms. The pope addressed the UN last month, urging member states to rebuild after COVID-19 in ways that involve less military spending and better treatment for refugees and women. Racism is also covered in the encyclical, as something that shows “our supposed social progress is not as real or definitive as we think.” The pope likened racism to a virus, which often “goes into hiding, and lurks in waiting.” The pandemic has exposed the racism undermining many health systems, placing people of colour at greater risk – and the protests against systemic racism triggered by the killing of George Floyd this past May have continued in places like Louisville, Kentucky. Populism, too, is covered – as something that can be used to exploit the vulnerable while serving the economic interests of the powerful. The pope calls instead for “a better kind of politics” that genuinely serves the common good. Media and other types of reports have noted that many countries with populist leaders tend to have suffered inordinately from the ravages of COVID-19. ...

A mental health crisis is looming as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes people into isolation, poverty and anxiety, experts say. And as demand for help increases, the crisis has affected critical mental health services in 93% of countries, data from the World Health Organization shows. The WHO is calling for increased investment in the area in the wake of the crisis. And while this would have enormous benefits for people, it could deliver a big boost to economies too. Every $1 spent on treatment for anxiety and depression, for example, returns $5, the WHO says. To mark World Mental Health Day on 10 October, here are five perspectives on mental health from high-profile advocates who want the world to talk more openly about it. “There still are so many people who are suffering in silence. And there’s still this stigma attached to mental health which we’ve got to completely obliterate.” The Duke of Cambridge joined the Mental Health Matters panel at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2019. He spoke of his own experiences with mental health, and he was unequivocal in his views on the stigma around the issue – it must end, he said. “Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction.” It’s time to “flip the script” on mental health in the United States, the then First Lady said at the Change Direction campaign in 2015. ...