Timeline of key events in biotechnology

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China reported 9,809 confirmed cases of infection. 2020-01-31T00:00:00+00002020-02-01T00:00:00+0000The person who died was a Chinese man from Wuhan. By this stage China reported 14,380 cases of infection and and the total death toll to be 304.2020-02-02T00:00:00+00002020-02-04T00:00:00+0000The Belgian case was a person who had been repatriated from Wuhan. China reported 20,438 infected cases and the total number of deaths to have risen to 426. 2020-02-04T00:00:00+0000US laid on more flights to evacuate US citizens from Wuhan. 2020-02-05T00:00:00+00002020-02-06T00:00:00+0000Born in Beizhen, China, Wenliang worked at Wuhan Central Hospital from 2014. He had contracted Covid-19 from a patient. His death highlighted the large toll Covid-19 on healthcare workers. 2020-02-07T00:00:00+00002020-02-11T00:00:00+0000A person with Leber’s congenital amaurosis 10 (LCA10), a genetic condition that is a leading cause of blindness in childhood, was given the treatment. It involved administering a CRISPR–Cas9 gene therapy directly into the patient's eye, near photoreceptor cells. The treatment aims to delete a mutation in the gene CEP290 that is responsible for LCA10. The procedure was performed at Oregon Health and Science University by Mark Pennesi. 2020-03-04T00:00:00+00002020-03-11T00:00:00+00002020-03-18T00:00:00+0000The Prize was awarded to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice, three scientists behind discovery of Hepatitis C virus which causes damage to the liver, including cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. In recent years hepatitis C has had considerably more attention and research funding than hepatitis B, which causes similar symptoms. Yet hepatitis B is considerably more common and causes more liver-rated cancer and death worldwide than hepatitis C. Hepatitis B is also approximately 5-10 times more infectious than hepatitis C. Unlike Hepatitis C, which usually only spreads through blood-to blood contact, hepatitis B is spread from contact with bodily fluids of a person who has the infection. 2020-10-05T00:00:00+0000Doudna and Charpentier's development of the CRISPR/Cas9 method together with other colleagues has radically transformed the process for gene editing. Enabling genetic engineering to be carried out on an unprecedented scale at very low cost, CRISPR/Cas9 is now exploited for a wide range of applications ranging from agriculture through to human health. 2020-10-07T00:00:00+0000
Date Event People Places Sciences
31 Jan 2020First Covid-19 cases reported in Russia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom  Covid-19
1 Feb 2020New Covid-10 cases confirmed in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and the US   Covid-19
2 Feb 2020First Covid-19 death reported outside China - in the Philippines  Covid-19
4 Feb 2020Hong Kong reported its first Covid-19 death, bringing the global death toll to 427  Covid-19
4 Feb 2020Belgium reported its first confirmed Covid-19 case  Covid-19
5 Feb 2020WHO announced there was 'no known effective' treatment for Covid-19  Covid-19
6 Feb 2020Malaysia reported the country's first known human-to-human transmission of Covid-19 and number of people infected in Europe reached 30  Covid-19
7 Feb 2020Li Wenliang, the first Chinese doctor to sound the alarm over Covid-19 died from the disease aged 33 years oldLi WenliangWuhan Central Hospital Covid-19
11 Feb 2020WHO officially named the new coronavirus disease Covid-19   Covid-19
4 Mar 2020First patient received gene editing therapy with CRISPR directly administered into the bodyPennesiOregon Health and Science UniversityCrispr-Cas9, Gene editing, Opthalmology, Gene therapy
11 Mar 2020WHO declared Covid-19 to be a pandemic  Covid-19
18 Mar 2020The Czech republic made the wearing of masks compulsory to try and prevent the spread of Covid-19  Covid-19
5 Oct 2020Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded for discovery of Hepatitis C virusHarvey Alter, Michael Houghton, Charles Rice, Washington University in St. LouisNational Institutes of Health, Chiron CorporationInfectious diseases,
7 Oct 2020Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna 'for the development of a method for genome editing'.Doudna, CharpentierUniversity California Berkeley, University of UmeaCRISPR-Cas9, Gene editing,

31 Jan 2020

First Covid-19 cases reported in Russia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom

1 Feb 2020

New Covid-10 cases confirmed in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and the US

2 Feb 2020

First Covid-19 death reported outside China - in the Philippines

4 Feb 2020

Hong Kong reported its first Covid-19 death, bringing the global death toll to 427

4 Feb 2020

Belgium reported its first confirmed Covid-19 case

5 Feb 2020

WHO announced there was 'no known effective' treatment for Covid-19

6 Feb 2020

Malaysia reported the country's first known human-to-human transmission of Covid-19 and number of people infected in Europe reached 30

7 Feb 2020

Li Wenliang, the first Chinese doctor to sound the alarm over Covid-19 died from the disease aged 33 years old

11 Feb 2020

WHO officially named the new coronavirus disease Covid-19

4 Mar 2020

First patient received gene editing therapy with CRISPR directly administered into the body

11 Mar 2020

WHO declared Covid-19 to be a pandemic

18 Mar 2020

The Czech republic made the wearing of masks compulsory to try and prevent the spread of Covid-19

5 Oct 2020

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded for discovery of Hepatitis C virus

7 Oct 2020

Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna 'for the development of a method for genome editing'.

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