The 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to scientists Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their research that enabled the development of effective vaccines against Covid-19. In its explanation of vote, the Nobel Academy said: “The discoveries of the two Nobel laureates were fundamental to the development of effective mRNA vaccines against Covid-19 during the pandemic that began in early 2020. Through their innovative discoveries, which fundamentally changed our society, by understanding how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented speed of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times.” The President of the General Assembly of the Nobel Committee, Thomas Perelman, even stated that “vaccines have saved millions of lives and prevented serious diseases from many more.”
Katalin Karikó was born in Hungary and specializes in biochemistry. She works at the pharmaceutical company BioNTech and is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. Throughout his academic career, he faced several challenges, such as skepticism from the academic community, demotion at work, and even the threat of deportation by North American authorities.
Weissman also works at the University of Pennsylvania. Born in the United States, he studied Immunology and Microbiology.
As Cecília Maria Arraiano, coordinating researcher, specialized in RNA studies and control of gene expression at ITQB (Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology / NOVA University of Lisbon) explains: “RNA vaccines were produced in record time and have already helped millions in recent years. lives saved. the covid-19 pandemic. But this effectiveness was preceded by decades of work to make mRNA molecules invisible to our immune system. For a long time, this basic research was considered of little importance, barely funded, and only the persistence of these researchers made it possible.” For Cecília Arraiano, the award of the Nobel Prize is of the utmost importance and draws attention to future technology in the combating other equally threatening diseases: “RNA vaccines have been shown to be very effective in protecting against disease, they do not contain the real virus, they can be developed more quickly and do not affect our DNA (our genetic code). The same RNA platform can be adapted to combat different viruses, meaning this technology can be used to counter future viral threats.”
But, as he also explains, the benefits of basic RNA research do not only apply in the event of a new epidemic: ‘It can also be decisive in the development of new drugs, altering cellular development and aging); respond to sustainability issues, with important implications in areas such as evolution, ecology, pest control and increased industrial production through synthetic biology”. There is still much to be done, and with this award comes the recognition that “RNA research is crucial to improving of human health and a better understanding of biological systems, which will have a significant impact on the future.”
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has already congratulated the two scientists on this award: “Their discoveries have enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against Covid-19. Their dedication to science has saved lives,” he wrote on his X social networking account.
For Cecília Arraiano, moments like these, when science is talked about more, also serve to draw the attention of public opinion and governments to the financing of science: ‘It is always a challenge, and it has decreased in recent years. Let’s hope that the government now uses opportunities like the PRR to support basic research and reduce the multitude of Portuguese researchers in precarious conditions.”
The experts’ predictions include research into immune cells that can fight cancer, the study of the human microbiota and work on the causes of narcolepsy on the list of favorites for the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
It is worth remembering that the awarding of the Nobel Prize for Medicine began in 1901, after it was established in 1895 by the will of Alfred Nobel. Among the winners is the Portuguese Egas Moniz, awarded in 1949, for the development of several techniques, some of which are now controversial, such as prefrontal leucotomy, better known as lobotomy.
Source: DN
