ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Five researchers will share a $500,000 medical prize for their roles in developing a groundbreaking gene-editing tool that lets scientists alter the DNA of living cells.

The recipients of the annual Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research were announced Tuesday. They are being recognized for their contributions related to the development of the tool, called CRISPR-Cas9.

The faster, cheaper and simpler gene-editing tool has sparked a boom in research over the past five years. Researchers using the technology recently edited the genes of piglets to rid...