To the casual observer, it took just 10 months to develop a vaccine against the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. That extraordinary success was made possible by the use of messenger RNA (mRNA), the molecule that instructs cells to make a virus surface protein that stimulates the production of antiviral antibodies.

What most people don't know is that this apparently breakthrough technology had been in development for three frustrating decades. And that it was preceded by 30 earlier years of fundamental research.

This book tells the story of how mRNA's medical potential was finally realized, setting the stage for a coming revolution in which our own bodies will generate therapeutic molecules we need. mRNA was long overlooked by mainstream molecular biologists. The pathway to recognition of its therapeutic possibilities was littered with broken careers, lawsuits, and opportunities missed by pharmaceutical companies. For the scientists who persisted through years of academic and commercial disappointment, the COVID-19 vaccine was an enormous vindication and an important step toward a new generation of therapies.

Fabrice Delaye, a science and technology reporter for Heidi.news in Switzerland, interviewed more than 40 scientists and entrepreneurs worldwide to create this definitive account of the rise of a technology that promises to revolutionize medicine.