The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been jointly awarded to Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman for their work on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which was instrumental in the development of COVID-19 vaccines.
- The Nobel Prize Committee recognized that Kariko and Weissman’s groundbreaking research fundamentally changed the understanding of how mRNA interacts with the human immune system. Their contributions led to the rapid development of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- mRNA vaccines, including those developed by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, were approved in December 2020 and have been crucial in saving millions of lives and preventing severe disease during the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Traditional vaccines use weakened viruses or viral proteins, while mRNA vaccines provide genetic instructions to cells, simulating an infection and training the immune system to respond to the virus. This technology, once experimental, has now been administered to millions of people worldwide and is also being researched for other diseases, such as cancer.
- Kariko and Weissman, colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, have received multiple awards for their research, including the Lasker Award in 2021, often considered a precursor to the Nobel Prize.
- The Nobel Prize will be formally presented to Kariko and Weissman in Stockholm on December 10th, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, who established the Nobel Prizes in his will.
Q.: Who were jointly awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology?
a) Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman
b) James Smith and Emily Johnson
c) Michael White and Elizabeth Taylor
d) Moderna and Pfizer
Ans : a) Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman
