Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman just won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. They won this prestigious award for their amazing discoveries that led to the creation of a vaccine to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nobel Prize Announcement

The Nobel Assembly in Sweden, which is like the boss of the Nobel Prize, honored Kariko and Weissman for their discoveries about something called nucleoside base modifications. These modifications helped scientists develop really effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. Thomas Perlmann, the secretary of the Nobel Assembly, made the announcement.

Katalin Kariko

Katalin Kariko is a Hungarian-American biochemist who was born in 1955. She's super smart and specializes in something called RNA-mediated mechanisms. Basically, she studies how RNA (a special molecule in our bodies) can do really cool things. One of her big achievements is developing a way to make mRNA in a lab. This mRNA is used to create protein therapies, which can help treat diseases.

Drew Weissman

Drew Weissman is an American physician-scientist who was born in 1959. He's also really smart and has made important contributions to something called RNA biology. He figured out how to modify RNA to make it safer and more effective. This was a big deal because it helped scientists create mRNA vaccines, like the one we have for COVID-19.

The First Nobel Prize of the Year

This is the first Nobel Prize that has been awarded this year, but there will be more announcements coming up. The Nobel Prize is a big deal in the science world, and it's given to people who make incredible discoveries or do amazing work that helps humanity. Kariko and Weissman definitely deserve this honor for their groundbreaking research that led to the COVID-19 vaccine.