mRNA (MESSENGER RNA) VACCINES

INNOVATIVE NEW TECHNOLOGY

Dna (deoxyribonucleic acid), the molecule of
“life”, a complex molecule that contains all
of the information necessary to build and
maintain a living organism
Found inside the nucleus of all cells
Information Needs to get outside the
coded in the nucleus, to the
Dna cytoplasm of the cell

crucial for ALL

Proteins are
THE BODY’S
synthesised based on
FUNCTIONs AND
this information
PROCESSES
 mRNA

Protein synthesis according to

instructions, and can start/stop/
modify/tweak, depending on the
instructions, and environment
 Because mRNA is like an instruction booklet,
or recipe …

… by making specific changes to synthetic mrna,

we can inject the body with it …

… and get our cells to make the

chemicals/drugs/vaccines they need !
Despite being fairly easy to
produce …

❌
Mrna treatments never even
won fda approval !
 Moved to the united states, in her 20s
continued her studies at the Temple
University, Department of Biochemistry,
Philadelphia; and the Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences
Research focus : harnessing the power
of mRNA, for health ;
But that Research area was considered
unpromising, premature, far-fetched;
Lack of funding and grants
 In 1997, dr. Kariko
met dr. drew
weissman …

… and that started a long-term, and

successful collaboration !
 Synthetic mRNA is extremely
vulnerable to the body’s own
immune system, and defences …

… It is Likely to be destroyed before it reaches it’s

target cells, and in the process, create a runaway
immune response which could be dangerous
for the patient !
The synthetic mrna was somehow different …
but how ?!
In one of their experiments …

The mRNA caused The control,

an immune tRNA (transfer rna),
overreaction did not !

trna contains pseudouridine, which allows

it to evade the body’s immune response !
 ALLOWS THE mRNA TO
EVADE THE BODY’S
IMMUNE RESPONSE

PSEUDOURIDINE
MAKES IT MUCH MORE
POWERFUL,
SYNTHESISING A LOT
MORE PROTEIN
 Described their discovery in a series
of papers, published from 2005

But nobody took their research

seriously, for a while …

… eventually, 2 biotech companies,

Moderna, and biontech, took notice !
Clinical trials for flu vaccine, and vaccines
for other viruses …

Covid Chinese scientists posted the

pandemic
genetic sequence of the virus
online, in jan 2020 …

… and researchers could start developing

the vaccine !
 Pfizer partnered with biontech, and
together they funded dr. Weissman’s lab

First results of the trials came in nov 2020

👍
Many feel that dr. Kariko and Weissman
deserve a Nobel prize for this discovery !