Rather disappointingly, neither sequence includes the string 'GATTACA'
Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]
161–170 of 389 posts
Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]
#162I wouldn't install beta software on a production system though.
Well we do with anti-malware stuff, when a 0-day comes out and we know there are exploits in the wild and beta software is all we've got.
Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]
#163I'm sure it's more complex than I grasp as a layperson, but I'm utterly amazed at how simple this _appears_. I get the feeling that this is something I have a better chance of understanding than the average SaaS Terms and Conditions. I expected to have to scroll through pages upon pages of indecipherable text. Instead it's no bigger than a large paragraph of text, and I can easily fit it on my screen.
Liken it to the 4kb demoscene: it's amazing what can be done with a little bit of information, as long as you don't have to describe the machine running it.
Or the distribution method, or even really invent the thing, since you're mostly just copying someone else's work. Plus it doesn't have to even do anything. In fact, doing anything might be a problem, so best to just sit there and look menacing (and spikey).
Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]
#164Earlier 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?
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Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
" but vaccines do not bring in the bacon." As in, "do not generate enough income"? Really? Now?
Current pricing for mRNA vaccines is something in the $4-7 dollars (that's $7.00 dollars, not $7,000.00 dollars) range. Compare that to one of the Hepatitis C treatments, which costs north of $350,000 by several accounts. Even remdesivir is something like $3000 for a course.
"Hepatitis C treatments"
We don't really need the same quantities of that, though.
Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]
#166Earlier 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?
Yes, really. Typical vaccines are like $5 to $200 or so. And worst of all, usually just one or two doses.
For all the horror HIV has wrought, global spending on vaccine development for HIV has been around $1 billion a year for the last few years. In contrast, the USA federal government spends $3 billion a year for HIV antiviral drugs for low-income Americans. $20,000 per patient per year for life. Unsurprisingly, new antivirals are where most of the research is.
It can sound almost like a conspiracy if I put it like that, but it's just the economics incentives. Especially since the developed countries where most of the market for charging a decent markup is, have the smallest market for most new vaccines, while having the largest markets for therapeutics for chronic conditions.
Now HIV is genuinely devillish to develop a vaccine for despite our attempts. But vaccines for hepatitis C, gonorrhea, HSV, among others appear to be possible. We almost certainly could develop effective vaccines for these with existing techniques, if someone coughed up the funding. Maybe all the buzz about mRNA vaccines will spur some progress here.
Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]
#167Earlier quoted context omitted.
The protein they're trying to manufacture is indeed quite simple - AFAIU both BioNTech and Moderna put together their sequences in a weekend. (Though there was a more involved process of winnowing down the sequences for the most effective ones.) The technically challenging parts are: - delivery mechanism: you need to take a very unstable molecule, protect it from the environment - both external, and when inside the p…
sequence is actually released by Moderna in their patent: https://www.modernatx.com/sites/default/files/US10702600.pdf though they do present multiple sequences, so I guess you'd have to go to the FDA application to figure out exactly which one got used.
Reading the primary claim is fascinating: "A composition, comprising: a messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) comprising an open reading frame encoding a betacoronavirus (BetaCoV) S protein or S protein subunit formulated in a lipid nanoparticle."
I have a "I'm sure that means something to somebody" feeling. It's also surprising that the remaining claims seem to describe the resulting bits of the sequence, and that that primary claim can stand on its own. Of course, I'm by no means an expert.
Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]
#168Please someone... create some abstraction language for this bio-assembly code. Can we make LLVM compile this? :joy:
Checkout https://github.com/clasp-developers/clasp
"Clasp: Common Lisp using LLVM and C++ for Designing Molecules": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rSMt1pAlbE
Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]
#169People joked a lot about "injectible source code / machine code" but it is kind of interesting injecting yourself with something that has the source on github.
Note that this is a sequencing result, so it will lack a lot of nonstandard RNA tricks that these companies are or might be using, like pseudouridines, or fluorobases. I think those would have to be disclosed in the patent.
Less like original source code, more like a clean room reverse engineering.
Re: Moderna mRNA sequence released to GitHub [pdf]
#170I'm sure it's more complex than I grasp as a layperson, but I'm utterly amazed at how simple this _appears_. I get the feeling that this is something I have a better chance of understanding than the average SaaS Terms and Conditions. I expected to have to scroll through pages upon pages of indecipherable text. Instead it's no bigger than a large paragraph of text, and I can easily fit it on my screen.
Liken it to the 4kb demoscene: it's amazing what can be done with a little bit of information, as long as you don't have to describe the machine running it. Or the distribution method, or even really invent the thing, since you're mostly just copying someone else's work. Plus it doesn't have to even do anything. In fact, doing anything might be a problem, so best to just sit there and look menacing (and spikey).
> Liken it to the 4kb demoscene
Coincidentally, the mRNA sequences for both vaccines are about 4kb (kilobase) long.