ALL+互動英語[有聲版]：【進階、應用】聽說讀寫全面升級 2021年10月號第203期 (電子雜誌)

Katalin Kariko and the Long Road to mRNA Vaccines
卡塔琳‧卡麗可：mRNA疫苗的幕後功臣
Molly Leonard
10/21 
Sometimes the greatest scientific discoveries are made by those whose work is ignored but who persevere against all odds until they succeed. Katalin Kariko, whose research paved the way for today’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, is one such person.
Born in Hungary in 1955, Kariko was fascinated by science from an early age. She began her career as a researcher at the Biological Research Center of the University of Szeged, where she had obtained her PhD. But when the center lost its funding in 1985, she moved to the United States with her family. “It was a one-way ticket,” she said. “We didn’t know anybody.”
In 1989, Kariko began working at the University of Pennsylvania. She was on track to become a full professor, but in 1995 the university demoted her because her work had failed to attract grant money. Kariko’s focus was mRNA, the material in a cell that carries instructions from the DNA and directs the cell to take specific actions. Kariko believed that modified mRNA could be introduced into cells to direct them to fight diseases. At the time, the scientific community was focused on DNA, and many believed that Kariko’s work lacked merit. 
有時候最偉大的科學發現是由那些工作成果遭到忽視、但在困難重重下仍堅持不懈的人所完成的。卡塔琳．卡麗可（她的研究替今天的mRNA新冠疫苗鋪好了路）就是這樣的一個人。
卡麗可於一九五五年出生在匈牙利，從小就著迷於科學。她的職涯開始是在賽格德大學的生物研究中心擔任研究員，她在那裡取得博士學位。但該中心在一九八五年失去資助後，她和家人搬到美國。「那是一張單程票，」她說道，「我們誰也不認識。」
一九八九年，卡麗可開始在賓夕法尼亞大學工作。她正要成為教授，但在一九九五年，賓大因她的研究無法吸引補助金而將她降職。卡麗可關注的是信使核糖核酸（mRNA），這種細胞中的物質會攜帶來自去氧核醣核酸（DNA）的指令並指示細胞採取特定行動。卡麗可認為修飾mRNA可以導入細胞中指揮它們對抗疾病。當時科學界全心專注在DNA上，而許多科學家認為卡麗可的工作毫無價值可言。


10/22 
A chance meeting in 1997 with immunologist Drew Weissman changed everything. A major problem for mRNA researchers was that the body’s immune system tended to attack and destroy any man-made mRNA that was introduced. Kariko and Weissman decided to tackle this problem to see if they could find a solution—and in 2005, they succeeded.
Eventually, the two scientists licensed their technology to the German company BioNTech, where Kariko now holds the position of senior vice president. The company demonstrated the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against the Zika virus in 2017, and in 2018 it began developing mRNA vaccines for the flu. Then, in 2020, COVID-19 hit.
As the world geared up to fight the virus, BioNTech partnered up with Pfizer to design an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19. The coronavirus has a spike protein that it uses to enter cells. The vaccine “teaches” cells to create this spike protein. The body’s defenses then kick in, recognizing and attacking the foreign spike protein. These vaccines have proven to be powerfully effective against COVID-19, and since their release, they have helped bring disease levels down dramatically. Kariko’s perseverance has finally paid off, to the benefit of us all.
一九九七年，和免疫學家德魯．魏斯曼的一次偶然會面改變了一切。對mRNA的研究員來說，最主要的一個問題是身體的免疫系統常會攻擊並消滅任何導入的人造mRNA。卡麗可和魏斯曼決定處理這個問題，看看他們能否找到解決方法——在二〇〇五年，他們成功了。
最終，這兩位科學家把他們的技術授權給德國公司BioNTech，現在卡麗可在該公司擔任資深副總裁。二〇一七年，這家公司證明了mRNA疫苗能有效對抗茲卡病毒，而在二〇一八年，它開始開發針對流感的mRNA疫苗。接著在二〇二〇年，新冠肺炎來襲。
隨著全世界都在準備對抗病毒之際，BioNTech和輝瑞聯手開發針對新冠肺炎的mRNA疫苗。冠狀病毒帶有一種棘狀蛋白（又稱「刺突蛋白」），能用它進入細胞。疫苗會「教導」細胞製造棘狀蛋白。身體的防禦接著發揮作用，辨識並攻擊外來的棘狀蛋白。這些疫苗已證明能夠強力有效地對抗新冠肺炎，而自從推出以來，已幫助大幅降低疾病的數量。卡麗可的堅持終於得到回報，造福我們所有的人。

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