Technology Quarterly | A nucleic-acid revolution
Novel vaccines have performed remarkably quickly and well
They may herald a new era of reprogramming cells
ON NOVEMBER 30TH 1803 the María Pita, a 160-tonne corvette, set sail from Spain for the New World. King Charles IV was keen that his subjects over the ocean benefit from the new technology of vaccination, which used inoculation with pus from blisters due to cowpox, a comparatively minor ailment, to engender immunity against smallpox, a scourge which killed millions—including, a decade earlier, the king’s beloved daughter.
This article appeared in the Technology Quarterly section of the print edition under the headline “Like nothing that has happened before”
From the March 27th 2021 edition
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