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John Van Gundy's avatar

I see a Packy note and raise you another Philadelphia note:

Biochemist Katalin Karikó and her colleague Drew Weissman at Penn, who pioneered mRNA vaccine work saving and protecting billions of lives.

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John Van Gundy's avatar

Maybe Newton had practical reasons for changing lead into gold. He lost his ass in the South Sea Bubble. As he said: “I can predict the movement of the planets but not the movement of stocks.”

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John Van Gundy's avatar

Biochemist Katalin Karikó at Penn had lost her funding and with no job prospects, she had only two weeks of employment remaining. She was making photocopies of her work with the mRNA vaccine applications. Drew Weissman happened to be in the copy room and glanced at Katikó’s photocopies as they stacked in the copy-machine tray. He asked for copies. A few days later, Weissman told Katikó he had funding and asked her to work in his lab. Thank goodness for intellectual curiosity.

When the mRNA vaccine was approved for use, Katikó allowed herself an extra piece of chocolate that night. This is reminiscent of the Bill Baker, physical chemist who had six offices (White House, DOD, two Bell Lab locations, Los Alamos, Livermore), who after a great discovery went home to clean out his garage and mow his lawn. Baker said to friends: “Nobody knows what I do.” He wasn’t complaining. Bajer knew in his own mind the strategic importance of his work to the government and (eventually) private enterprise. Thank goodness for integrity and humility.

Compare these scientists to the chest-thumping Tech Bros of today, who are building on the foundations established by the superior scientists who preceded them.

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John Van Gundy's avatar

I confess to a family connection. My Uncle Bernard attended Penn School of Surgery, before heading off to serve in WWII field hospitals.

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