冷门学科的坚持与坚守——2023年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖的启示

Perseverance and dedication of unpopular subjects:Insights from the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

2023年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖表彰Katalin Karikó与Drew Weissman关于核苷碱基修饰的发现,该发现对于新冠mRNA疫苗研发至关重要。然而除此之外,新冠mRNA疫苗背后还有其他诸多重要的科研硕果值得关注。梳理了mRNA疫苗诞生过程中不可或缺的关键突破,如mRNA的发现、RNA的人工合成、RNA的碱基修饰、脂质体的创生和发展以及用于RNA递送的脂质纳米颗粒主要成分的确定等。新冠mRNA疫苗背后的重大科研突破凸显了坚守冷门而重要研究的难能可贵。指出了应正确认识热门学科与冷门学科的辩证关系,推动对冷门学科的倾斜支持,并关注学科发展的均衡配置。

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 was awarded to Katalin Karikóand Drew Weissman for their discovery of nucleoside base modifications,which was crucial for the development of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.In addition,there are many other significant scientific achievements behind the novel coronavirus mRNA vaccine that deserve attention.This article reviewed the crucial breakthroughs of the mRNA vaccine,such as the initial discovery of mRNA,in vitro RNA synthesis,RNA base modifications,the creation and development of liposomes,and the determination of the major components of lipid nanoparticles for RNA delivery.The seminal scientific advancement which enabled COVID-19 mRNA vaccine underscored the inherent value of pursuing unpopular but important research.We should correctly understand the dialectical relationship between popular and unpopular fields of study,and rally preferential support for unpopular subjects,while ensuring a balanced allocation of resources across the spectrum of subject areas.