S1·E21 Will Messenger RNA Save Us From Cancer?

The sharpest weapon of the pandemic has given us a vaccination technique that almost no one knew about before the coronavirus—messenger RNA. It has been studied for over 20 years. The grand goal of mRNA pioneers: a cancer vaccine. After the success of coronavirus vaccines, will we also defeat this old sworn enemy of humanity? A small community of researchers from around the world has always believed in the revolutionary potential of mRNA vaccination. The rest of the scientific world considered the biomolecule a mere unstable diva until recently. "No one read our papers, and we didn't receive any research funding either," says Steve Pascolo, who likes to compare mRNA to the transcription of a recipe from the great cookbook of DNA. A transcription that can be delivered to the kitchens of cells, which then do everything indicated in the recipe. The human body becomes a pharmacy.