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WHY MRNA VACCINES ARE THE FUTURE  
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Michael Le Page
October 15, 2025
New Scientist
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_ mRNA vaccines are quick and easy to make, while virus-like
nanoparticles produce a stronger immune response. Now, the two
approaches are being combined to give us the best of both worlds. _

Stylized rendering of small molecule, credit: Shubham Dhage, unsplash


 

Vaccines [[link removed]] that
resemble viruses generally produce a stronger immune response, while
mRNA versions are much quicker and cheaper to make. Now we are getting
the best of both worlds, in the form of mRNA vaccines that code for
virus-like nanoparticles, rather than just individual proteins, as is
the case with existing covid-19 mRNA vaccines.

Grace Hendricks [[link removed]] at
the University of Washington in Seattle and her colleagues have shown
that an mRNA version of a covid-19 nanoparticle vaccine produces an
immune response in mice that is up to 28 times higher than that of a
standard mRNA vaccine.

Some of the unpleasant – but mild – side effects of mRNA vaccines
stem from the body’s immediate reaction to injected mRNAs and the
fatty particles in which they are enclosed, says Hendricks. With more
potent vaccines, the dose could be lowered. “So the important immune
response stays the same, but the side effects would be lower because
you gave a smaller dose,” she says.

The first-ever vaccines consisted of weakened “live” viruses,
which are very effective but can be risky for people with weakened
immune systems. Then came inactivated vaccines containing “dead”
viruses, which are safer but tricky to manufacture.

The next advance was protein subunit vaccines, which typically contain
just the outer proteins of viruses. These are even safer than
inactivated vaccines, but free-floating proteins tend not to produce a
strong immune response.

So, vaccine designers started embedding the viral proteins in tiny
spheres to create spiky balls that look like a virus to the immune
system, but are just as safe as protein subunit vaccines. One way to
do this is to modify existing proteins so they self-assemble into tiny
balls, with the viral proteins protruding from them, known as vaccine
nanoparticles.

During the pandemic, colleagues of Hendricks created a covid-19
nanoparticle vaccine called Skycovion
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approved in South Korea in 2022, but by then, the mRNA vaccines had
already had a big head start, so it wasn’t widely used.

mRNA vaccines are much quicker and easier to manufacture than
protein-based vaccines because they consist of the recipes for making
proteins, and cells in our bodies do the hard part of making these
proteins
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The viral proteins encoded by the first-generation mRNA vaccines end
up protruding from the outside of cells and produce a better immune
response than free-floating proteins, but not as effective as
nanoparticle vaccines.

Now, Hendricks and her colleagues have combined the advantages of both
approaches by creating a vaccine consisting of mRNAs coding for
Skycovion. When the vaccine proteins are made inside cells, they
assemble themselves into the nanoparticles, with signs of efficacy in
the study in mice.

“This was just proof of concept of this genetic delivery,” says
Hendricks. She and her colleagues are already working on mRNA-launched
nanoparticle vaccines, as they call them, against flu, Epstein-Barr
– which can cause cancers – and other viruses.

“I am enthusiastic about the promise of mRNA-launched protein
nanoparticles for vaccines,” says William Schief
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Institute in California, who is developing HIV vaccines
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“My collaborators and I have published fantastic immunogenicity
results with two mRNA-launched nanoparticles in clinical trials and
several such nanoparticles in mouse models. This new paper adds nicely
to the body of work.” But despite the potential of mRNA
vaccines, the US recently announced big cuts in funding for their
development
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Journal reference: _Science Translational Medicine _DOI:
10.1126/scitranslmed.adu2085
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_Michael Le Page is a science journalist who writes about everything
from the dawn of life and evolution to genetic engineering, CRISPR
gene editing, biomedicine and the environment, especially global
warming. He studied various sciences at the University of Cambridge,
including molecular biology, and later did an NVQ Foundation Skills
Certificate in journalism._

_New Scientist [[link removed]] is the world’s
most popular weekly science and technology publication. Our website,
app and print editions cover international news from a scientific
standpoint, and ask the big-picture questions about life, the universe
and what it means to be human. If someone in the world has a good
idea, you will read about it in New Scientist._

_Since the magazine was founded in 1956 for “all those interested in
scientific discovery and its social consequences”, it has expanded
to include newsletters, videos, podcasts, courses and live events in
the UK, US and Australia, including New Scientist Live, the world’s
greatest festival of science. New Scientist is based in London and New
York, with operations elsewhere in the UK, the US and Australia._

* Science
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* mRNA
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* vaccines
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* Medicine
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