We Nailed This Nobel Prize Prediction
We nailed this Nobel Prize prediction... The science of CRISPR technology... 'The most profound scientific discovery in decades'... A five-minute COVID-19 test... This is just the start... 'The greatest backdoor secret on Wall Street'...
Our editors don't often make predictions about Nobel Prize winners...
But when they do, they nail them.
We're specifically talking about what Stansberry Innovations Report editor John Engel wrote to his subscribers in the December 2019 issue of his monthly newsletter. He was referring to an amazing scientific breakthrough that's still new to most folks nearly a year later...
This incredible discovery is worth billions to biotechnology companies. And it's challenging our current concept of medicine.
Frankly, this innovation is worthy of the Nobel Prize, too. But it hasn't won... yet.
Well, that's no longer true... As we'll explain in today's Digest, the discovery that John wrote about 10 months ago just won the Nobel Prize last week.
In that issue, John shared all the critical details about CRISPR gene-editing technology...
More specifically, he wrote about how it could be used to cure diseases.
John detailed how biologists Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier had discovered the method of editing genes by unlocking the secrets of "genetic memory" in bacteria...
One pattern [has] stumped biologists for decades – repetitive sections of DNA in the genomes of common bacteria.
Picture the following graphic as a section of DNA. The pink sections are identical. The gray, green, and blue sections are unique.
The first clue to this mystery is that the spaces between repeat sequences – called clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats ("CRISPR") – are identical to the DNA of viruses that often infect bacteria.
In other words, the bacteria saved the viral sequences of invaders and filed them away into their genomes to protect themselves against future infection. Those bacterial cells passed this genetic advantage on to future generations as a survival benefit.
Our immune systems work a lot like this, too. We get vaccinated to build antibodies against viruses. Our mothers also pass us vital antibodies for immunity during the first few months of pregnancy, and nursing mothers pass antibodies to their children through breastmilk. It's nature's way of warding off the threat of disease.
Before John joined Stansberry Research in 2015, he worked as a scientist developing novel therapeutics... So nowadays, he's able to provide incredible insight for his subscribers. And best of all, he does it in a way that's understandable to scientific laymen like us.
In this instance, he told the interesting story of how Doudna – an American biochemist professor at University of California, Berkeley – and Charpentier – a French microbiologist then working in Sweden – met at a scientific conference in Puerto Rico in 2011...
While in San Juan, the two women compared notes with one another...
They discussed how bacteria defend themselves against infection by targeting and chopping up the DNA of attacking viruses through a combination of genes and enzymes.
Doudna and Charpentier believed more work could lead to groundbreaking results... And they presented on stage together about their work, which was related but not exactly the same.
Doudna was exploring the structure of a protein often found in correlation with the CRISPR genetic patterns, known as Cas ("CRISPR-associated protein"). Charpentier was studying how the genetic sequences in the CRISPR region interacted with one another.
After the conference, the pair of scientists agreed to work together. And within just two years, they made huge leaps forward...
Ultimately, Doudna and Charpentier discovered that Cas is essentially programmable 'molecular scissors'...
John explained how the process works in Innovations Report...
When an invading virus infects a cell, it inserts its genetics into the cell.
Bacteria learn to protect themselves by saving a short section of the invading genetic sequence... They save identical viral sequences between repeating sections of the CRISPR pattern, sort of like a "mug shot." If a matching genetic sequence invades again, the Cas protein cuts it.
In other words, the mug shot serves as a guide. It shows Cas what to cut.
Before the biologists shared their discovery in the prestigious journal Nature in 2012, they designed a way to program a version of the protein called Cas9 to cut anywhere they wanted it to. They developed a lab-generated genetic mug shot.
The first gene-editing experiments with Cas9 targeted a GFP gene that had been placed in bacteria. An early sign that the experiments worked (meaning that Cas9 cut where they wanted it to) was that the once-glowing bacteria went dark under ultraviolet light.
All in all, John said the technology had previously unthinkable potential...
CRISPR/Cas is the most accurate, cost-effective, and easy-to-use gene-editing system in the world. It can cut and disable bad genes. But it can also replace and edit the genes of living cells.
This is the most profound scientific discovery in decades, and with 6,000 known diseases resulting from genetic mutations, Doudna and Charpentier's work offers a great deal of promise for the future of modern medicine.
As with a lot of big discoveries, at the time, there were also ongoing arguments over CRISPR patent rights. As investors, these types of disputes can present a challenge in many walks of life. But John knew exactly how to navigate the path...
He suggested that subscribers buy shares of three little-known companies that owned the core patents of this "most advanced gene-editing tool on the planet." Each company was either founded or previously co-founded by either Doudna or Charpentier.
And that leads us to the exciting news we saw last week...
Doudna and Charpentier were awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work, as well as the $1.1 million prize that goes with the life-changing recognition. This announcement told us a couple of things...
First, the world is catching on to the potential of CRISPR technology. Thousands of diseases that were off the table for cures before, like cancers, are now in CRISPR's crosshairs.
And second, Doudna and Charpentier were recognized as John said that they should be – a truly great call by him. (Even folks who follow these things closely, like the ChemBark blog, had CRISPR's scientists at 15-to-1 odds to win... Yes, there are Nobel Prize odds.)
Officially, the biologists were awarded the Nobel Prize "for the development of a method for genome editing." A press release announcing the prize said...
Charpentier and Doudna have discovered one of gene technology's sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision.
This technology has had a revolutionary impact on the life sciences, is contributing to new cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true.
Already, the technology is being used in previously unimaginable ways...
Like COVID-19 testing, for example. A day before the Nobel Prize was announced, we saw this article about CRISPR in the magazine Science...
Researchers have used CRISPR gene-editing technology to come up with a test that detects the pandemic coronavirus in just 5 minutes. The diagnostic doesn't require expensive lab equipment to run and could potentially be deployed at doctor's offices, schools, and office buildings.
"It looks like they have a really rock-solid test," says Max Wilson, a molecular biologist at the University of California (UC), Santa Barbara. "It's really quite elegant." ...
The new test is the fastest CRISPR-based diagnostic yet. In May, for example, two teams reported creating CRISPR-based coronavirus tests that could detect the virus in about an hour, much faster than the 24 hours needed for conventional coronavirus diagnostic tests.
CRISPR tests work by identifying a sequence of RNA – about 20 RNA bases long – that is unique to SARS-CoV-2.
Now, we're not saying that you can go get this CRISPR test at your doctor's office today... You can't. There's more work to be done before that happens.
But the point is, these are the sort of developments that are possible with the technology – and Doudna is leading a team of researchers who are working on the COVID-19 test, in particular.
This is just the start of the practical uses of this science...
You're going to hear much more about these gene "scissors" in the years ahead – related to cancer or other diseases that we haven't even mentioned today.
Of course, there will likely be appropriate ethical discussions about CRISPR technology, too. In the wrong hands, we can imagine the possibility of bad consequences. As the Financial Times reported on Friday, Doudna has already been vocal in response to one of these ethics issues...
In 2018, when He Jiankui revealed the birth in China of the world's first gene-edited babies, with DNA manipulated to prevent future infection with HIV/Aids, Prof Doudna led the worldwide chorus of scientific denunciation of his experimentation with human embryos.
Unlike gene editing of individual patients, this risked passing on unintended changes to future generations.
But today, we're talking about using the technology for good intentions – like curing life-threatening diseases and detecting the virus that causes COVID-19.
If you're one of John's subscribers, you would have known all the details roughly 10 months ago. This is a perfect example of the great work that John and our editors do every single day.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve on where developments in the fields of science and biotech are headed – and the companies that stand to deliver potentially life-changing returns in these areas – there's no better way to do it than to follow the Innovations Report.
In this advisory, John looks for strong companies that are staking out their spots in the burgeoning technology industry, treat shareholders right, and provide the opportunity for outstanding gains.
To that point, two of the three companies John shared with subscribers in that original issue nearly a year ago are up more than 50% since he recommended them. But of course, this isn't the only timely, valuable research that John provides on a monthly basis...
Stansberry Alliance Partners and existing Innovations Report subscribers can access his latest issue right here. And if you don't already subscribe, there has never been a better time to do so than right now...
You can currently receive all of John's research in this newsletter for a full year for just $39.
The moment you sign up, you'll get complete access to the full Innovations Report recommended portfolio, as well as two important subscribers-only research reports. And best of all, everything comes with a 30-day risk-free trial. Get started right here.
'The greatest backdoor secret in the history of Wall Street'...
Moving on, we told you last week about the latest research from Empire Financial Research editor Enrique Abeyta... And he wrote to you about it in more detail in last Thursday's Digest.
In short, Enrique is banging the table for individual investors to learn more about the exciting opportunities in special purpose acquisition companies ("SPACs").
According to Enrique, these companies essentially present the best chance for individual investors to get access to pre-IPO shares...
Their tickers are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. But unless you know the letters for these SPACs yourself, you're unlikely to ever hear about them... that is, until one of them hits the mainstream news because of a merger and subsequent initial public offering ("IPO") that sends those already-listed shares to new highs.
But by then, most of the biggest upside will have already been realized...
As Enrique explained last Thursday during his first-of-its-kind SPAC Investment Summit...
IPOs are designed to make founders rich. Unless you're founding yourself, you better get alongside the founder.
That's what buying shares of SPACs allow individual investors to do. Essentially, you become part of the pre-IPO process alongside the investors intimately involved in the deal-making.
These are folks like Pershing Square's Bill Ackman, who joined his good friend and Empire Financial Research founder Whitney Tilson for an exclusive interview during the event.
According to Ackman, in a lot of cases, a SPAC structure often encourages a company or minority party that is being acquired to sell shares at a lower price... That's because they know the numbers are pre-IPO evaluations, and prices will soar after the deal is announced.
Ackman told viewers about a SPAC deal he was involved in with a company called Justice Holdings that eventually reached an agreement to take fast-food restaurant chain Burger King public back in 2012. That company eventually became Restaurant Brands International (QSR), in which Pershing Square still owns roughly a 13% stake.
Most folks simply don't even know about this part of Wall Street...
This is precisely why Enrique calls this type of investment the "greatest backdoor secret in the history of Wall Street."
Now, as you've learned in the Digest in recent weeks, we'll always be among the first to tell you that these so-called "blank check" companies have had a shady reputation in the past. You don't want to put money into any of them without an experienced guide. But that's where Enrique comes in...
He has decades of Wall Street experience, unmatched connections to the types of investors making these deals, and has started the first SPAC newsletter in the business, as far as we know.
Thousands of investors have watched Enrique's presentation (and he even received a note from mainstream outlet Bloomberg asking for an invitation)... And for just a short time longer, you can catch the replay of the fascinating discussion and learn all about SPACs. Click right here to learn more now.
The Road to Recovery
This week, our colleague Jessica Stone and Stansberry NewsWire editor C. Scott Garliss are providing in-depth coverage of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group's annual meetings...
They'll check in on the "Road to Recovery" that the world's major economies – including our own – are currently on, as well as bring you interviews, analysis, and much more. Click here to sign up for free updates from Jessica and Scott throughout the week.
Today, Jessica and Scott reported on European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde's comments that European countries need to invest more in technology. You can watch their full commentary on our Facebook page right here.
New 52-week highs (as of 10/9/20): ARK Fintech Innovation Fund (ARKF), BlackLine (BL), Corteva (CTVA), Dollar General (DG), New Oriental Education & Technology (EDU), Comfort Systems USA (FIX), Fidelity Select Medical Technology and Devices Portfolio (FSMEX), Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR), iShares U.S. Home Construction Fund (ITB), Jushi (JUSHF), Lennar (LEN), MAG Silver (MAG), MongoDB (MDB), MSA Safety (MSA), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), Novo Nordisk (NVO), Flutter Entertainment (PDYPY), Procter & Gamble (PG), Qualcomm (QCOM), Rollins (ROL), Sea Limited (SE), TFI International (TFII), The Trade Desk (TTD), and Zendesk (ZEN).
In today's mailbag, feedback on Kim Iskyan's Friday Digest about the U.S. dollar's fall from grace. Do you have a comment or question? As always, e-mail us at feedback@stansberryresearch.com.
"Regarding the decline of the dollar, if it is no longer the world's reserve currency, I doubt it will fully cease to exist. I disagree with so called 'gold bugs' who see fiat money as worthless; it's clearly not. At the moment, and very likely to continue well into the future, I think of it as TINA (There Is No Alternative).
"Having said that. I think it's important to diversify one's assets, and this doesn't mean to own some stocks and also some bonds. Cash, gold, Bitcoin, real estate, U.S. stocks, U.S. bonds, ex-U.S. stocks/bonds, other commodities and precious metals, and even derivatives are all different types of assets that vary in their correlations with each other.
"With Stansberry's help, I have learned through the years that this is what a truly diversified portfolio can hold. Particularly with the helpful writings of those at True Wealth, I've also learned the concept of relational value. I wish I could say I was younger when I realized it, but with enough repeating, the mantra of 'cheap, hated, and in an uptrend' finally hit home with me to the point that I now see all the world's assets in this vein.
"What is out of favor now, may be in favor again one day. What is coveted today, may be thrown away tomorrow. And for those seeking adventure, you don't know what you don't know. This is where speculating on moonshots can play a part in wealth creation." – Paid-up subscriber Bret R.
"[The dollar going out on top?] Great idea... It will never happen, but great idea." – Paid-up subscriber David B.
"While the U.S. Dollar may be on the road to losing its place as the world's reserve currency, it began when Nixon took us off the gold standard and our debt began to grow.
"Trump's success renegotiating bad trade deals, pulling out of deals that put an unfair burden on the United States (e.g. Paris Climate Accord, Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Iran Nuclear Deal) and forcing European countries to contribute their fair share (and already agreed to amount) to fund NATO are all positives toward helping our economy and debt issues.
"And concerning the World Health Organization, despite our contributing 10x more to them than any other country does, they mislead us in the early stages of COVID-19, thus our defunding them was the right thing to do.
"Not doing these things would have hurt our economy, exacerbated our growing debt problem and further eroded respect for America." – Paid-up subscriber Tim P.
"I hear what you are saying on US$ currency and it makes sense. BUT the change from dollar to bitcoin in emerging markets is long way off from our international market experience. Doing most of our business in SE Asia, West Africa, northern South America and Central America a new currency would be very hard to implement. The corruption and regulatory controls related to the US$ have evolved over such a long period of time and there are still holes. I cannot imagine how a 'new' currency would address these concerns without the backing of a strong central government.
"That being said, what are the strategies you recommend for a novice to invest in bitcoin and even GOLD today?" – Paid-up subscriber Jim S.
Corey McLaughlin comment: Jim, we can't provide individual investment advice, but generally speaking... longtime readers know our founder Porter Stansberry has advocated that everyone own at least a little bit of bitcoin. To get started, we recommend you check out the work of Crypto Capital editor Eric Wade.
We haven't found a better guide to the cryptocurrency world than Eric... for both novice and experienced investors alike. One of Eric's special reports for subscribers is literally titled, "How to Buy Your First Bitcoin"... But he also brings an unmatched industry expertise and insight to more sophisticated crypto investment recommendations that he shares with his subscribers each month.
As for gold, similarly, we don't believe you'll find better guides than Gold Stock Analyst editor John Doody and Stansberry Gold & Silver Investor editor Bill Shaw...
As we most recently shared last week, John has been writing his newsletter for decades and is one of the most respected names in the gold business. John recommends a basket of high-quality gold stocks in his service. And Bill does the same in Gold & Silver Investor, suggesting recommendations designed to profit from the next great bull market in gold. You can learn more about Bill's product right here.
All the best,
Corey McLaughlin
Baltimore, Maryland
October 12, 2020