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mRNA vaccines: let's eradicate herpes, cure cancer, and be sick a whole lot less

bessstillman.substack.com

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Re: mRNA vaccines: let's eradicate herpes, cure cancer, and be sick a whole lot less

#4
This is about as succinct a summary as it gets re mRNA's potential:

"To create an mRNA cancer vaccine, a patient’s tumor is biopsied to identify unique target mutations —> mRNA correlating to mutations is synthesized and injected into the patient —> the patient’s cells create the targeted protein —> the creation of foreign proteins stimulates the immune system and teaches it how to recognize the target protein —> The immune system (especially T cells) search for this target protein and destroy the cancer cells to which it’s attached."

Re: mRNA vaccines: let's eradicate herpes, cure cancer, and be sick a whole lot less

#5
post #4

This is about as succinct a summary as it gets re mRNA's potential: "To create an mRNA cancer vaccine, a patient’s tumor is biopsied to identify unique target mutations —> mRNA correlating to mutations is synthesized and injected into the patient —> the patient’s cells create the targeted protein —> the creation of foreign proteins stimulates the immune system and teaches it how to recognize the target protein —> The…

Making the immune system target tissue produced by the body, even a cancerous growth, is risky business.

Re: mRNA vaccines: let's eradicate herpes, cure cancer, and be sick a whole lot less

#8
post #5
post #4

This is about as succinct a summary as it gets re mRNA's potential: "To create an mRNA cancer vaccine, a patient’s tumor is biopsied to identify unique target mutations —> mRNA correlating to mutations is synthesized and injected into the patient —> the patient’s cells create the targeted protein —> the creation of foreign proteins stimulates the immune system and teaches it how to recognize the target protein —> The…

Making the immune system target tissue produced by the body, even a cancerous growth, is risky business.

I've said above, if there aren't other treatment options available, it makes sense, but even then I don't know why one wouldn't use standard immunotherapies instead, which are less risky.

I think Moderna and Pfizer generated a lot of profit from the vaccines, and now they need a way of turning that over into capital, and they are still trying to find ways to have widespread adoption of regular mRNA treatments. But even millions or billions of dollars of capital investment will not yield a profit if its a bad investment.

Re: mRNA vaccines: let's eradicate herpes, cure cancer, and be sick a whole lot less

#9
> RNA is fragile. So, like in the COVID mRNA vaccines, these instructions can be delivered in a protective fatty bubble called a “lipid nanoparticle.” Think of it like a balloon made of fatty acids, with the instructions nestled inside. Once injected, these lipid nanoparticles take the mRNA instructions into cells, where the fatty bubble degrades, mRNA instructions are released, and the cell’s machinery start to produce whatever protein the mRNA tells it to.

I still don't understand how writers about mRNA vaccines gloss over the numerous details that should be important. The picture that she paints lacks a targeting mechanism. Which cells will these lipid nanoparticles enter? She does not say. How much protein from the mRNA will those cells produce? It can't be predictable, right? Will there be significant differences in the dose of the final product between individuals? Is this important? She does not say. Will the cells that engulf those lipid nanoparticles be destined to die, in case the protein they produce is a foreign one, like the spike protein of Covid? They must be, right? After all, that's how immunity works. Is this important, given that there is no targeting mechanism? She does not say. And so on...

What makes an mRNA vaccine more appealing than a protein-based one?

Re: mRNA vaccines: let's eradicate herpes, cure cancer, and be sick a whole lot less

#10
post #5
post #4

This is about as succinct a summary as it gets re mRNA's potential: "To create an mRNA cancer vaccine, a patient’s tumor is biopsied to identify unique target mutations —> mRNA correlating to mutations is synthesized and injected into the patient —> the patient’s cells create the targeted protein —> the creation of foreign proteins stimulates the immune system and teaches it how to recognize the target protein —> The…

Making the immune system target tissue produced by the body, even a cancerous growth, is risky business.

Of course, but so are almost all cancer treatments, and many cancers are still a death sentence.
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