5 ms·

Scientists Discover DNA in Covid That Matches Moderna’s Patented Sequence

1 points by qwertyuiop_ 5y ago

webmaven 5y ago
Bah. This is the same argument that Intelligent Design advocates put forward. It's nonsense. The question isn't how likely it is that this specific sequence coincidentally evolved naturally to match a patented sequence, but how likely it is for any short patented or otherwise "unnatural" sequence to have evolved naturally. Given the size of the genome and all the patented sequences in existence, it is virtually certain that some sequences will coincidentally match. You would actually have to go to a lot of deliberate effort to avoid those coincidences.
ahazred8ta 5y ago
The DNA sequence is part of a gene that all mammals have. It existed for millions of years before Moderna did any research on it. Moderna did not invent this nucleotide sequence.
- gus_massa 5y ago
  > Moderna did not invent this nucleotide sequence. I almost agree, but my biology knowledge is not strong enough. I'm just ignoring the press article and looking at the research article. It says: > A BLAST search revealed that a 19 nucleotide portion of the SARS.Cov2 genome encompassing the furing cleavage site is a 100% complementary match to a codon-optimized proprietary sequence that is the reverse complement of the human mutS homolog (MSH3). The article claims that it is the only exact match. How different is the natural sequence from the optimized sequence by Moderna? What happens considering 18 nucleotides sequences? (My guess is that they are exaggerating how unique it is, but I may be wrong.)
aurizon 5y ago
Yes, webmaven is correct. Since DNA is made of triads of DNA letters in sequences that often occur in patterns, the odds of sequences being repeated is a lot lower. Since the created protein is the result of thousands of these triads, that are subjected to complex folding rules that are little understood in detail - if you recall the huge AI driven computational task analysis to try and predict a particular folded protein's path to the end state in the search for a synthetic path. This is much like finding a 3 inch bolt in a scrapyard and blaming it on the sinking of the Titanic because it also used 3 inch bolts. The pressure to publish is a powerful force, so they seek anything onto which to tie a link.

1 points by qwertyuiop_ 5y ago

Bah. This is the same argument that Intelligent Design advocates put forward. It's nonsense. The question isn't how likely it is that this specific sequence coincidentally evolved naturally to match a patented sequence, but how likely it is for any short patented or otherwise "unnatural" sequence to have evolved naturally. Given the size of the genome and all the patented sequences in existence, it is virtually certain that some sequences will coincidentally match. You would actually have to go to a lot of deliberate effort to avoid those coincidences.

ahazred8ta 5y ago

The DNA sequence is part of a gene that all mammals have. It existed for millions of years before Moderna did any research on it. Moderna did not invent this nucleotide sequence.

gus_massa 5y ago
> Moderna did not invent this nucleotide sequence. I almost agree, but my biology knowledge is not strong enough. I'm just ignoring the press article and looking at the research article. It says: > A BLAST search revealed that a 19 nucleotide portion of the SARS.Cov2 genome encompassing the furing cleavage site is a 100% complementary match to a codon-optimized proprietary sequence that is the reverse complement of the human mutS homolog (MSH3). The article claims that it is the only exact match. How different is the natural sequence from the optimized sequence by Moderna? What happens considering 18 nucleotides sequences? (My guess is that they are exaggerating how unique it is, but I may be wrong.)

aurizon 5y ago

Yes, webmaven is correct. Since DNA is made of triads of DNA letters in sequences that often occur in patterns, the odds of sequences being repeated is a lot lower. Since the created protein is the result of thousands of these triads, that are subjected to complex folding rules that are little understood in detail - if you recall the huge AI driven computational task analysis to try and predict a particular folded protein's path to the end state in the search for a synthetic path. This is much like finding a 3 inch bolt in a scrapyard and blaming it on the sinking of the Titanic because it also used 3 inch bolts. The pressure to publish is a powerful force, so they seek anything onto which to tie a link.