Reverse Engineering the Source Code of the BioNTech/Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine

ahubert wrote: post #4

mandiantBob wrote: post #2

The article is easy to follow and is an enjoyable read!

Thanks! If anyone has questions, I am here for them!

Would be curious what the differences in the Moderna vaccine are (at this level - I know the lipids are different).

Re: Reverse Engineering the Source Code of the BioNTech/Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine

#6

Post by ahubert » Fri, Dec 25, 2020, 10:56 PM UTC

KenoFischer wrote: post #5

ahubert wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks! If anyone has questions, I am here for them!

Would be curious what the differences in the Moderna vaccine are (at this level - I know the lipids are different).

yeah, I'd love to know as well. Both Moderna and BioNTech licensed technology from University of Pennsylvania, but I don't know if that is only the 1-methyl-3’-pseudouridylyl bit. If I find out I'll update the post.

Re: Reverse Engineering the Source Code of the BioNTech/Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine

#7

Post by frongpik » Fri, Dec 25, 2020, 11:41 PM UTC

Sounds like a new field of software engineering in the near future. And I like how the author casually mentions that there's an unexplained "linker" code in the AAA sequence that controls the number of copies to be made, with an implicit assumption that everyone's acting in a good faith. Frankly, if I noticed a strange 20 byte sequence inside the tail of zeros in an executable file, I'd instantly assume it's opcode instructions, probably a function, that gets control by a "jmp" instruction hidden somewhere in the main code.

Re: Reverse Engineering the Source Code of the BioNTech/Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine

#8

Post by ngneer » Fri, Dec 25, 2020, 11:45 PM UTC

ahubert wrote: post #4

mandiantBob wrote: post #2

The article is easy to follow and is an enjoyable read!

Thanks! If anyone has questions, I am here for them!

Kudos for the fascinating article. Since you mentioned security, and the well known trick of sending an ambiguous message that is interpreted differently by different interpreters, I wonder what you might think of enlisting the hackers of the world to help in viral research. Seems as though adversarial thinking skills could come in handy?

Re: Reverse Engineering the Source Code of the BioNTech/Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine

#9

Post by ahubert » Sat, Dec 26, 2020, 12:10 AM UTC

ngneer wrote: post #8

ahubert wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks! If anyone has questions, I am here for them!

Kudos for the fascinating article. Since you mentioned security, and the well known trick of sending an ambiguous message that is interpreted differently by different interpreters, I wonder what you might think of enlisting the hackers of the world to help in viral research. Seems as though adversarial thinking skills could come in handy?

I definitely think the computing / information security mindset is relevant and applicable to computational biology. There are sadly structural reasons why the crossover is very hard. I spent 18 months at a university doing this kind of research but it is not a natural fit. Also, I do have to tell you, I spent 10 years studying this stuff before I became useful to the field. So you don't just jump in there :-)

Re: Reverse Engineering the Source Code of the BioNTech/Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine

#10

Post by raphaelj » Sat, Dec 26, 2020, 12:17 AM UTC

One of the best reads I had in months. Please do more like these.