The Nobel Prize for Medicine, the disappointment and controversy of those who expected the award for the RNA scientists

At exactly 11.30 a.m. from the Swedish Academy, the names of the Nobel Prize winners in Medicine were pronouncedMany were disappointed. There are those who predict that they will win Ugur Sahin NS Özlem TurekAnna, the two scientists of Turkish origin, who in Mainz, Germany developed a vaccine against Covid messenger RNA with Biontech marketed by Pfizer. The two researchers, both university professors, may appear to be center stage. Although a little less Katalin Kariko, Hungarian biochemist from the same company, e Drew Wiseman, a biochemist, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania, considered the parents of the RNA, who only won Foundation Breakthrough Award “For having engineered RNA technology that allowed the rapid development of effective vaccines against the Covid-19 pandemic”. Instead the recognition of value went to David Julius NS Erdem Patabutian. Two researchers and professors contributed their research in a “revolutionary” way to understanding what the Italian geneticist said Giuseppe Novelli It’s called “paths of pain.” Which the whole scientific community congratulates.

After announcing the Nobel Prize on Twitter, some users protested – among the many congratulatory messages to the two world winners -: “According to the last wishes of the creator, Alfred Nobel, the prize should be awarded to those who have contributed more than anything, in the past year, to the well-being of mankind” Anders HeitfeldtAssociate Professor of Applied Medicine at the University of Southern Denmark. “We are in a global pandemic and new discoveries on mRNA, made last year, made an effective vaccine possible.. Are we sure this year’s decision complies with Nobel’s latest wishes?Someone replied to the Scandinavian researcher that there was still a Nobel Prize in Chemistry to be awarded, and that it could be years before a great discovery could be awarded. Another anonymous user wrote: “This is a great Nobel Prize, very well deserved, for any year but this year. It should have been mRNA vaccines that really saved humanity in a tangible way. TRP channels could have waited.”

There are those who give a technical explanation: “They can still get the Chemistry Prize or give them next year in Physiology and Medicine…” This is because the names could have been evaluated in early January and February when the messenger for Rna vaccines was very little used. And the controversy is also a little Italian: “It’s a huge disappointment. The scientists who developed the mRNA technology should have won. Perhaps the Nobel is now obsolete. Matteo Bassetti, Director of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases at Policlinico di Genova. “It seemed to me more than deserving of a ‘Nobel Prize tied’ to the topic of Covid, but the Academy has its own rhythms and rituals, and Swedes are somewhat cold even in the face of the pandemic,” he told Adnkronos Salute. Walter RicciardiAdviser to the Minister of Health Roberto Speranza and Professor of Public and Applied Health at the Catholic University of Rome