Dec 06, 2023
It is commonly believed that a COVID-19 vaccine was developed in just ten months, but few people are aware of the decades of frustration that preceded this breakthrough. Messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which utilizes molecules that instruct cells to create a viral protein, had been in development for thirty years before it finally came to fruition. This technology is now considered to be as revolutionary as putting a man on the moon, according to Nobel Prize winner Thomas Cech. In his book, The Medical Revolution of Messenger RNA, science journalist Fabrice Delaye tells the story of how mRNA was overlooked for years by mainstream molecular biologists and was the subject of lawsuits and missed opportunities by pharmaceutical companies. Despite these obstacles, persistent scientists continued their academic and commercial pursuits, resulting in the COVID-19 vaccine as a huge vindication and a promising step towards a new generation of therapies. The therapeutic potential of mRNA now extends beyond COVID-19, with potential applications in the treatment of cancer, cystic fibrosis, and cardiovascular disease.
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