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For all the devastation Covid-19 has caused, there’s at least one very bright spot: For the first time ever, drug companies created a vaccine against a novel pathogen within a year of its discovery—about a tenth of the time vaccine development usually takes.
Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines, which use cells’ existing infrastructure to manufacture their own medicine, appear poised to open up a new era of rapid-response vaccine development. And their success wouldn’t have been possible without tiny globs of fat called lipid nanoparticles.
More than mRNA vaccines themselves, lipid nanoparticles may portend big changes in pharmaceutical development. They can carry big molecular cargo like mRNA and other nucleic acids and deliver them with specificity. And that ability to deliver targeted therapies could unleash a new wave of pharmaceuticals that have the potential to cure previously untreatable diseases.
Pharmaceutical companies typically invest the most in drugs that have the biggest potential customer base, meaning a smaller group of people with rare but severe diseases are often left out of the drug development process. When a drug company makes a product that does target them, the lower demand often results in higher prices.
RNA-based therapeutics, bonded to lipid nanoparticles, could target those more specialized diseases. The mRNA in Covid-19 vaccines instructs our cells to produce the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, but other mRNAs could be gene therapies that direct cells to produce healthy proteins we need to survive, or the first step in immunotherapy for cancer. Other nucleic acids called silencing RNAs have the opposite effect, and stop the production of misshapen proteins that make the rest of the body sick.
“I’m convinced that in the next 50 to 100 years we’ll be able to solve all the [medical] problems that we have not yet,” says Sylvia Daunert, a biochemist studying nanoparticles at the University of Miami. She believes that future therapeutics will coax the body into making the tools it needs to repair itself—like a molecular surgeon traveling through the body to the point of need. “It’s not just The Magic School Bus, it’s a reality.” —Katherine Ellen Foley
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But will the next vaccine arrive at Warp Speed? The distribution of coronavirus vaccines barely a year after the outbreak began is a stunning scientific and industrial achievement. Similar preventative measures in the future may not come so quickly: Annalisa Merelli reports that it will be tough to replicate the flood of global resources brought to bear on coronavirus, or to fix bad incentives in the pharmaceutical industry. —Tim Fernholz, senior reporter
Linguistic takeover. Since last year’s protests, many in Hong Kong have picked up a new vehemence in the government’s language, which is now peppered with rhetoric emblematic of China’s Communist Party—”external forces,” “internal affairs,” and “rumor mongering,” to name just a few. For this ultra-Quartzy marriage of linguistics and data analysis, Mary Hui and Dan Kopf collaborated to measure the increase of CCP-speak across 165,000(!) Hong Kong government-issued statements to measure exactly that. —Tripti Lahiri, Asia editor
The year in Wikipedia. This is not the standard 2020 retrospective. It covers all the big events—notable deaths, political events, coronavirus, and more—but Amanda Shendruk illustrated the year’s wild trajectory using a calendar that shows the most-read Wikipedia pages for every day of 2020 thus far. Even focusing on English-language pages, the calendar still covers a range of international moments. It’s amazing to scroll through and realize just how much happened in 2020. —Marc Bain, fashion reporter
Masculin/Féminin. Earlier this week, Paris was fined for putting too many women in charge, having breached strict gender quotas by appointing too few men to top jobs. Mayor Anne Hidalgo called the €90,000 ($110,000) fine “absurd.” Annabelle Timsit, herself a Parisian, explains the complexity of France’s commitment to equality and the perils of relying on quotas to address diversity problems. —Hasit Shah, news editor
A holiday party like no other. With more than 25,000 employees spread among 69 international offices, PayPal knew a simple Zoom meeting wouldn’t suffice for its year-end holiday bash. Anne Quito describes how the company, which has a reputation for elaborate celebrations, designed a 29-hour virtual experience to highlight the local flare of each of its offices, featuring origami, mixology and cooking lessons, a handful of drag shows, and kid-friendly activities for any soul brave enough to wade through PayPal’s virtual lobby. —Jordan Lebeau, deputy email editor
We’re obsessed with vinyl records
Coming back around. It’s not too often that 19th-century technology makes a comeback, but with more than 70,000 turntables sold stateside last year and a growing fan desire to directly support their favorite artists, vinyl’s second wind even managed to stand up to the mighty Covid-19. Take a spin with the Quartz Weekly Obsession.
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One membership thing that made us think
The new employee activism. There’s no one reason for the recent wave of workplace activism. Instead, Lila MacLellan offers six catalysts, from rising inequality to the purpose-driven recruiting tactics employed by tech companies. She also puts this new wave of organizing in the context of a century’s worth of labor history. Employees at tech companies may be generating most of the attention, but they are part of a broader resurgence of the labor movement. —Walter Frick, executive editor
✦ There are plenty of reasons to get a Quartz membership, but we hope one catalyst is this opportunity to try it for a week, on us.
Five things from elsewhere that made us smarter
The United States of kidney disease. In the body, two bean-shaped organs tucked next to the spine do the unseen work of filtering our blood, day in and day out. When kidneys fail, the rest of the organs are soon to follow. In the US, over a third of adults are at risk for kidney disease. In a five-part series for Undark, Carrie Arnold breaks down the for-profit industry of dialysis, the extra hoops patients of color face, advances in kidney transplant science, and palliative care options for those living with kidney failure. —Katherine Ellen Foley, health and science reporter
More than love in the air. Despite everything health officials have learned about how Covid-19 spreads, people are still having weddings indoors, oftentimes with unmasked guests. Emily McCullar at Texas Monthly has a detailed, horrifying account of what several wedding photographers have suffered this year and which attendees were clearly most at risk of getting the virus. The last paragraph will knock you out. —Karen Ho, global finance and economics reporter
Staying abreast of the pumping business. For millions of mothers, pumping breast milk is synonymous with one brand: Medela, the Swiss giant that dominates the industry. The company, however, has fallen prey to the forces of disruption that challenge incumbents in all sorts of industries. As Bloomberg’s Esmé Deprez points out in this fascinating article that explores the science and culture underlying the big business of breast milk, the competition to build the better pump is growing heated. —Oliver Staley, culture and lifestyle editor
Young pockets. I’ve been wondering what the catch is with the “buy now, pay later” services on trendy clothes sites. The Atlantic’s Amanda Mull provides a nuanced perspective on the potential pitfalls of these services that target young consumers, many of whom don’t have credit cards, but also points to how it’s not necessarily worse than other lending services. That said, as Mull writes, does instant gratification lead young people to be less wary? —Michelle Cheng, reporter, Quartz at Work
Retiring the white turtleneck. In a world… where movies without superheroes and explosions are considered unmarketable, one hugely accomplished director is ready to talk about why she’s walking away from the industry… Either you’re very into Nancy Meyers movies, or you haven’t given them a lot of thought. Regardless, you know them—they’re “movies about people” as the director puts it in this interview with Rachel Handler for Vulture. And they’re a dying breed. —Susan Howson, email editor
Our best wishes for a relaxing but thought-filled weekend. Please send any news, comments, Something’s Gotta Give quotes, and your birthday according to Wikipedia to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Weekend Brief was brought to you by Susan Howson and Katherine Ellen Foley.