(audience laughing)
- And now, presenting the
Crunchie for best technology:
Joyus founder and
chairman, Sukhinder Singh
and TechCrunch senior writer, Katie Roof.
(audience clapping)
(upbeat music)
- (laughing) When Eli Whitney was kid,
he came to love a set of knives
that his step-mother had,
and he said, "I can
make ones just like that
"if I had the tools, and I
can make the tools, if I had
"the tools to build them with."
- Whether it's solar roof
tiles, landable rocket ships,
or a technique that lets us
edit genes, technology is
the ultimate tool of our species.
It sets a stage for us to
work, play, and communicate.
- So the best technology award
goes to projects that have
made major breakthroughs,
propelling us closer and closer
to the world that the Jetsons promised us.
Let's take a look at the nominees.
- [Narrator] The nominees
for best technology are:
Blue Origin.
- [Video Narrator] One, zero, lift-off.
Your Shepard's clear the tower?
Roger [Mac-Stoo]
- [Narrator] CRISPR/Cas9.
- [Video Narrator] The
Crispr method is based
on a natural system used
by bacteria to protect
themselves from infection by viruses.
Over the past few years,
researchers studying this system
realized that it could be
engineered to cut not just
viral DNA, but any DNA
sequence at a precisely
chosen location.
- [Narrator] Facebook Aquila.
(upbeat music)
- [Video Narrator] We have liftoff!
And we're flying!
(people cheering)
- Yes!
- [Narrator] SpaceX Falcon 9 Landing.
(upbeat rock music)
(people cheering)
And Tesla Solar Roof.
- [Video Narrator] How
do we have a solar roof
that is better than a normal roof,
that looks better, lasts
longer, has better insulating
effect and with a cost
of roof plus electricity,
is less than that of a normal roof?
(suspenseful music)
- And the runner-up is
(ripping)
Tesla Solar Roof.
(audience cheering)
- And the Crunchie for
best technology goes to
CRISPR/Cas9.
(audience cheering)
(upbeat music)
So unfortunately, the CRISPR/Cas9
CEO could not be with us
but they sent us a message
to share with the team.
"As a proud member of
the scientific community
"and co-inventor of
CRISPR/Cas Genome Editing,
"I'm delighted to see
fundamental scientific research
"supported in this way.
"Many researchers around
the world work tirelessly
for decades to bring us
to the point where now we
have a technology that
can positively impact
the way we live.
Our thanks to TechCrunch
and all of you for following
this journey of discovery,
believing in CRISPR's
power to help those most
in need, and for continuing
to consider the societal
and ethical impact of this
breakthrough technology.
Sincerely, Dr. Jennifer Doudna.
Congratulations.
(audience clapping)
(upbeat music)
