Modified messenger RNA can teach the immune system to ignore foreign molecules
By chemically altering messenger RNA to evade immune detection, researchers transformed a long-ignored 2005 discovery into a platform for both global vaccines and highly effective, personalized cancer treatments.
The molecular foundation of modern mRNA vaccines rests on a 2005 breakthrough by Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó at the University of Pennsylvania, who discovered that modifying nucleosides could prevent the immune system from destroying foreign RNA. This precise chemical engineering allows the body to recognize synthetic instructions as safe, a principle that enabled the rapid deployment of billions of vaccine doses during the 2020 pandemic.
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