Scientists whose work enabled mRNA Covid vaccine win medicine Nobel prize

Two scientists have been awarded the 2023 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine for their contributions to RNA biology that contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during the Covid pandemic.

Prof Katalin Karikó and Prof Drew Weissman share the 11m Swedish kronor (£823,000) prize announced on Monday by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.

The Nobel committee awarded the prize for their discoveries concerning “nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against Covid-19”.

These vaccines work by smuggling the genetic instructions for...