Vaccines based on mRNA need to get out of the freezer
Two new ideas might make that happen
The first successful attempt to transport vaccines over long distances was crude, but ingenious. In 1803, seven years after Edward Jenner’s demonstration that inoculations of the lymph from cowpox pustules could protect against smallpox, a group of 22 orphan boys embarked in La Coruña on a ship bound for Spain’s American colonies. Two had been deliberately infected with cowpox. When they developed pustules Francisco Xavier de Balmis y Berenguer, the doctor who had organised the expedition, used the lymph therein to inoculate two more. And so on, until the ship arrived a little over two months later and inoculations could be given to locals.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Warming to their task”
Science & technology February 18th 2023
From the February 18th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Science & technology
Does melatonin work for jet lag?
It can help. But it depends where you’re going
Training AI models might not need enormous data centres
Eventually, models could be trained without any dedicated hardware at all
How the Gulf’s rulers want to harness the power of science
A stronger R&D base, they hope, will transform their countries’ economies. Will their plan work?
Cancer vaccines are showing promise at last
Trials are under way against skin, brain and lung tumours
New firefighting tech is being trialled in Sardinia’s ancient forests
It could sniff out blazes long before they spread out of control
Can Jeff Bezos match Elon Musk in space?
After 25 years, Blue Origin finally heads to orbit, and hopes to become a contender in the private space race