The medical marvels of mRNA

I think a catch-all thread for some of the insane advancements we are making in the field of medicine, specifically through mRNA changes is warranted.

Like, hey, did you know we are going to fucking cure cancer in most of our lifetimes. Holy shit.

https://www.pennmedicine.org/mrna#:~:text=mRNA%20Vaccines%20for%20Cancer,system%20to%20attack%20cancer%20cells.

" mRNA Vaccines for Cancer

While the mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases prevent disease, mRNA technology can also help treat existing diseases like cancer. The platform’s flexibility allows researchers to create mRNA cancer vaccines that activate the immune system to attack cancer cells."

Or, I dunno, how about changing our liver enzymes to essentially eliminate plaque buildup in arteries?

“Excess cholesterol is a leading risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Penn researchers are using mRNA technology to modify liver genes, thereby permanently reducing cholesterol levels and protecting against heart attack and stroke.”

In the next 10-30 years, we could possibly eliminate or greatly reduce the two leading causes of death in our country and around the world. And its likely to be astronomically cheaper than current treatments for both.

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Human trials already underway for vaccines against arterial plaque.

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The plaque stuff is extremely interesting and I was not aware of that.

The cancer stuff is less promising imo, as each type of cancer has its own special characteristics. Immunomodulation has been around for a long time, and has only made massive progress in a few areas like melanoma as far as I’m aware of. Way outside of my expertise though.

Still very interesting to see this go forward though, thanks.

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I thought an ocean of tiny little robots was going to let us live forever, what happened to that? I hate getting shots!

yeah the nanobots are still a ways off

I would add DNA sequencing to this too for identifying presence of or susceptibility to certain disorders, but it seems like getting anywhere close to a complete picture on that is a long way off. That said, it’s still pretty wild to me that in 2022 you can get a full genome sequencing from Nebula Genomics as a consumer product. Of course, I’d say these products aren’t for the faint-hearted or people who don’t understand the limitations of the technology, but if for some reason you wanted a 100-pass sequencing and the 300 GB file it’s contained in, that product is available right now.