Benjamin Thompson, Noah Baker and Elie Dolgin discuss RNA vaccines.In this episode: 01:16 How RNA vaccines came to prominenceIn less than a year, two RNA vaccines against COVID-19 were designed, tested and rolled out across the world. We discuss these vaccines’ pros and cons, how RNA technology lends itself to rapid vaccine development, and what this means for the fight against other diseases.News feature: How COVID unlocked the power of RNA vaccines09:20 The hurdles for trialling new COVID-19 vaccinesMultiple candidates for new COVID-19 vaccines are still being developed, which may offer advantages over the vaccines currently available. However, running placebo-controlled trials of these candidates is becoming increasingly difficult, so researchers are looking for different ways to evaluate them.News: Search for better COVID vaccines confounded by existing rollouts14:45 How long will COVID vaccines be effective?There is much concern around the world about two faster-spreading variants of SARS-CoV-2. We get an update on whether these variants could render vaccines ineffective.News: Could new COVID variants undermine vaccines? Labs scramble to find outSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.