Muons, massive waves and restored sight: the winners at the ‘Oscars of science’

About this episode

The episode discusses the winners of the Breakthrough Prize and features an interview with Jean Bennett about her groundbreaking work in gene therapy for sight loss.

Madeleine Finlay sits down with science editor Ian Sample to hear about some of the winners of the Breakthrough Prize, which held its ceremony in LA last weekend. Each prize is worth $3m and they’re awarded in physics, maths and life sciences. Madeleine and Ian hear from molecular biologist Jean Bennett, who shared a life sciences prize for her work developing the world’s first FDA-approved gene augmented therapy for sight loss. She explains how a chance encounter while dissecting a brain in medical school led her on a 25-year journey to develop the treatment.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

People in this episode

Host: Madeleine Finlay

Guest: Ian Sample

Topics covered

• Breakthrough Prize
• gene therapy
• sight loss
• molecular biology
• science awards

Keywords

• Breakthrough Prize
• gene therapy
• sight loss
• molecular biology
• science awards
• FDA-approved
• LA ceremony

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Breakthrough Prize, FDA

Places: LA

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