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Evolution, the adaptation of species to different environments, has created an enormous diversity of life. Gregory Winter has used the same principles – genetic change and selection – for the directed evolution of antibodies. Specifically, he used phage display, a method where a bacteriophage – a virus that infects bacteria with its genes – is used to evolve new proteins. Since 2002 this has led to new pharmaceuticals, such as medications to counteract autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.
A vaccine prevents diseases by stimulating the body’s immune system to develop a defense against the infectious agent. One type of vaccine uses mRNA, which transfers genetic information from DNA to stimulate protein production. In 2005, Drew Weissman and Katalin Kariko discovered that certain modifications of the building blocks of RNA prevented unwanted inflammatory reactions and increased the production of desired proteins. The discovery laid the foundation for effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 during the pandemic that began in early 2020.
The Standard Model used by modern physics has three types of a very small and elusive particle called the neutrino. In the Super-Kamiokande detector, an experimental facility in a mine in Japan in 1998, Takaaki Kajita detected neutrinos created in reactions between cosmic rays and the Earth’s atmosphere. Measurements showed deviations, which were explained by the neutrinos switching between the different types. This means that they must have mass. The Standard Model, however, is based on neutrinos lacking mass and the model must be revised.
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