Dr. Ramakanta

Vaccination and R0

The basic aim of vaccination is to reduce the R naught (R0) factor of a pathogen. r k mahapatra R0 is a measure of transmissibility of the virus. It is always observed that whenever a new pathogen enters a closed community, say an isolated island, it rapidly infects a large number of the residents causingContinue reading “Vaccination and R0”

“Mr WATSON, COME HERE. I WANT YOU.”

It was a sultry afternoon.Boston, 10 March 1876. Thomas Watson was listening intently to the tuning fork sounds coming distantly from the closet of his boss TWO ROOMS APART. His boss had closeted himself two rooms away. A wire was connected between these two rooms. Assistant Watson was ordered to listen for any sound comingContinue reading ““Mr WATSON, COME HERE. I WANT YOU.””

Everybody likes a Good Pandemic

Year 2019 was devastating for all biotech start ups. Shares of the most established companies dealing with biotech Pharma products had nose dived. Stephan Bancel, the CEO of a little known mRNA company was worried sick. The company’s shares are trading 35% below its initial value. Developing a new drug molecule consumes billions of dollars.Continue reading “Everybody likes a Good Pandemic”

Katalin Kariko

There is hardly any difference between a RNA virus and a mRNA vaccine. Both consist of a strand of RNA surrounded by a lipid envelop. RNA viruses are there for billions of years infecting all forms of life, algae, plants and animals. Thus life has developed astute mechanism of shaking of unwanted RNAs. Every tissueContinue reading “Katalin Kariko”

Merck’s Adenovirus Mis-adventure, 2007

Merck’s Adenovirus Misadventure. Merck is the biggest developer of Vaccines. It is also a pioneer in harnessing Adenoviruses to transfer genetic material into human cells. Today, we have more than a couple of vaccines that uses an adenovirus vector for covid-19 vaccine. But Merck has none. Why ? The story of modern day vaccines beganContinue reading “Merck’s Adenovirus Mis-adventure, 2007”