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Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]

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Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]

#141
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern a has been working on mRNA since 2010 and mRNA vaccines since 2012. They have the process down pretty solid, but vaccines do not bring in the bacon.

Now that they've spent a year developing the mass-production methods and infrastructure, it might bring in the bacon! e.g. there's a steady annual market for a flu vaccine for whatever the latest strain is, and being able to get that to market faster than the competition could give them an edge. I just don't think it was every profitable enough for them to put in this enormous capital expenditure.

When you can have Uncle Sam cover that capex, it makes it even more financially appealing.

Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]

#142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> delivery mechanism: you need to take a very unstable molecule, protect it from the environment - both external, and when inside the patient - and insert it into a human cell. (This is called the "platform", and is usually developed independently from the specific payload.) Of note, the immune system is pretty good at destroying foreign mRNA so you also need to evade it. This article is pretty good: https://berthub.…

I wouldn't even say the immune system, your body has a ton of nonspecific RNA-digesting enzymes floating around to patrol for exactly this sort of thing happening, even by accident, as cells can sometimes rupture. It's a problem enough that good RNA researchers have a reputation of being clean freaks. Some RNA labs I've been in had a lingering, slightly sweet smell, that's the nonspecific RNAase inhibitor that gets s…

RNA is also just generally fantastically unstable and reactive. You don't want any surface to be too alkaline, for example. There's a reason that basically every life form switched to DNA.

(Though RNA may have been more stable under the high-UV-exposure conditions the early Earth.)

Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]

#143
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern a has been working on mRNA since 2010 and mRNA vaccines since 2012. They have the process down pretty solid, but vaccines do not bring in the bacon.

" but vaccines do not bring in the bacon." As in, "do not generate enough income"? Really? Now?

Now is a very atypical situation :-P

Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]

#144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From that link: > The injection contains volatile genetic material that describes the famous SARS-CoV-2 ‘Spike’ protein. Through clever chemical means, the vaccine manages to get this genetic material into some of our cells. > These then dutifully start producing SARS-CoV-2 Spike proteins in large enough quantities that our immune system springs into action. Confronted with Spike proteins, and (importantly) tell-tale…

> The reason I'm asking is to understand how the vaccine designers determine if there are any long-term effects of having this artificial material inside your body The properties of mRNA are well known and have been for decades. Your cells are constantly producing more from the nucleus. It degrades, even more so when it gets transcribed. That's the beauty of this, it's self-limiting. The only 'artificial' thing about…

What happens once it degrades? Does it eventually get decomposed into constituent molecules? Or removed from your body somehow? And what happens to that base?

Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, you mean you don't extract genomic data from Excel? The MARCH1 gene brings many interesting surprises.

I am fond of September 2, myself. For those not in the know: https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13...

Now SEPTIN2! (and MARCHF1)

Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]

#147
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

from what I've gathered, the rate limiting step for production as of yet, is creating the lipid vesicles and getting the RNA inside of them. Only a few companies have a process for this, and the supply chain for the precursors is limited as well.

Could be wrong but AFAIU the Pfizer one doesn't encapsulate in a lipid, hence why it needs lower temperatures.

Pfizer one does contain 4 kinds of lipids to encase the RNA. The encapsulation percentage is however unknown. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/09/1013538/what-are...

Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]

#148
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

from what I've gathered, the rate limiting step for production as of yet, is creating the lipid vesicles and getting the RNA inside of them. Only a few companies have a process for this, and the supply chain for the precursors is limited as well.

Could be wrong but AFAIU the Pfizer one doesn't encapsulate in a lipid, hence why it needs lower temperatures.

RNA would get thrashed by your immune system if it isn't encapsulated by something: liposome deliver of therapeutic RNA is really next-generation tech, and the fact that the RNA does what it's supposed inside the your cells is no small feat either.

From the CDC "ingredients" for the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, along with cholesterol (which modulates the stability of lipid membranes), they report using this molecule, which would form a phospholipid bylayer, just like our own cells use: https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/avanti/850365P?...

Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]

#149
post #14

'A group of Stanford researchers has hacked Moderna’s messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine for the novel coronavirus, Motherboard first reported on Monday, and published its entire genetic sequence on the open-source code repository Github.' https://gizmodo.com/stanford-scientists-post-entire-mrna-seq...

What does "hacked" mean here? The article makes it sound like this wasn't something illegal: > Fire and Shoura told Motherboard that they had received permission from the FDA to collect scraps of vaccines that wouldn’t have otherwise been used from empty vials and that they’d notified Moderna in advance of their plans to publish the sequence without receiving any objection in turn. Also: > The research team told Moth…

It means the gizmodo author is trying to get more views.

Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]

#150
post #136
post #132

This should be an NFT, I'd love to own an NFT of the RNA sequence of the Moderna vaccine.

No reason you can't make your own NFT of it. Heck, if you promise to pay at least 1.337 ETH I'll figure out how to do it myself and make it for you. :-P

Done, load it up!
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