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Why mRNA vaccines could revolutionise medicine
- atlacatl_sv 6y agoVery interesting explanation: ioNTech/Pfizer & Moderna vaccine both use revolutionary approach applicable to any future vaccines. Sequence a virus & type harmless part into mRNA, doctored so not immuno-rejected. mRNA does the rest for you. Potentially works for any virus you like https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/1342890882148626432?s=20 https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/134289088214862643...
- sbinthree 6y agoYes, and the formulation took 48 hours after covid was sequenced. This should be the last pandemic ever assuming brutally out of date regulatory bodies catch up.
- sschueller 6y agoWe'll see how well this comment ages. The slow approval process is because side effects can take a long time to show up. I very much hope there aren't any but we've been there before.
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- oceanplexian 6y agoI'm optimistic for mRNA technology, but I wouldn't be shocked at all if we discover we are playing with fire. And the consequences may be completely outside of our reality; for example we might be putting selective pressure on pathogens in unanticipated ways, the mRNA may interact with other viruses, or mistakes in manufacture may harm people. There's a hell of a lot more to safety than "We engineered a new thing and it worked for a few months", and as an engineer I have heard this line before and seen it play out exactly as you would expect.
- toomuchtodo 6y agoIs this going to be a relatively quick fix for herpes simplex variants and HIV?