This year’s Nobel Prize for Chemistry was won by Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for their development of CRISPR-Cas9 – a method for genome editing.

An animation of how CRISPR-Cas works, approved by the two Laureates, has been created by Visual Science and Skoltech.

Here it is:

Here are the Laureates’ comments on the animation:

“Molecular animations are an essential way to demystify and explain complex biological systems. Through the use of stunning imagery and attention to detail, Visual Science and Skoltech have captured the dynamic mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas proteins and their use as research tools” — Dr. Jennifer Doudna, Professor of the Depts. of Molecular and Cell Biology and Chemistry at the UC Berkeley, Executive Director of the Innovative Genomics Institute

“Attention to detail, beautiful imagery, and in-depth information about the CRISPR-Cas mechanisms. This is a perfect example of how complex biochemical processes on the molecular level can be visualized. Visual Science and Skoltech have produced excellent work!”— Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Honorary Professor at Humboldt University.

Skoltech have also created a A collection of annotated 3D illustrations demonstrating specific processes in the CRISPR-Cas system and models of its biological components..