Scientist rewrites DNA, and the future of medicine

A revolution is underway in gene editing and at its forefront is David Liu, an American molecular biologist whose pioneering work is rewriting the building blocks of life with unprecedented precision.

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A professor at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Liu was awarded a Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences on Saturday for developing two transformative technologies: one already improving the lives of patients with severe genetic diseases, the other poised to reshape medicine in future.

He received $3 million for his work on "base editing" and "prime editing," and plans to donate most of it to support his charitable foundation.

Correcting the code