Abstract
In 2023, Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their nucleoside base modifications research that later enabled mRNA vaccine development against COVID-19. This paper briefly reviews these achievements in the context of the development of mRNA technology and its enormous potential for medicine in the prevention of various infectious diseases and cancer treatment, including personalised therapies. Without a doubt, Karikó and Weissman's discoveries were vital in getting around one of the biggest problems with using mRNA molecules in real life: they had to be recognised by endosomal Toll-like receptors and the innate immune response that came after, causing exogenous mRNA molecules to have less translational activity and break down.. Although the Nobel Prize for Karikó and Weissman is fully justified, it must be stressed that mRNA technology would never unfold its potential for public health without a collective scientific effort encompassing over 40 years of research.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
