theconversation | DNA and mRNA vaccines offer huge advantages over traditional types of vaccines, since they use only genetic code from a pathogen – rather than the entire virus or bacteria. Traditional vaccines take months, if not years, to develop. In contrast, once scientists get the genetic sequence of a new pathogen, they can design a DNA or mRNA vaccine in days, identify a lead candidate for clinical trials within weeks and have millions of doses manufactured within months. This is basically what happened with the coronavirus.
During the pandemic, researchers have taken full advantage of the proliferation of smartwatches, smart rings and other wearable health and wellness technology. These devices can measure a person’s temperature, heart rate, level of activity and other biometrics. With this information, researchers have been able to track and detect COVID-19 infections even before people notice they have any symptoms.
Proteins are the molecular machines that make your cells function. When
proteins malfunction or are hijacked by a pathogen, you often get
disease. Most drugs work by disrupting the action of one or several of
these malfunctioning or hijacked proteins.
So a logical way to look for new drugs to treat a specific disease is
to study individual genes and proteins that are directly affected by
that disease. For example, researchers know that the BRCA gene – a gene
that protects your DNA from being damaged – is closely related to the
development of breast and ovarian cancer. So a lot of work has focused
on finding drugs that affect the function of the BRCA protein.
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