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In late December 2019, a novel sickness of unknown origin was spreading across the Chinese city of Wuhan. By March of 2020, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic resulting from widespread infections from a new type of coronavirus. Prior to all this, the use of messenger RNA (mRNA) as a therapeutic agent had faced significant technical challenges. Niazi (Univ. of Illinois; Univ. of Houston) argues persuasively that the COVID-19 crisis actually caused a paradigm shift in basic mRNA research, with lasting effects affecting far more than the approval of the now well-known mRNA vaccines that were developed in response to the pandemic. Niazi's detailed coverage of the timeline of this development in the biotechnology industry occupies the first four chapters of what is arguably the most compendious treatment available on the current state of knowledge in the field of nucleic acid therapeutics. The text is organized in six chapters, the first four of which cover the core scientific principles associated with nucleic acid origins, chemistries, therapeutic technologies, and vaccine development. In the final two chapters, Niazi adopts a regulatory lens through which to explore actual processes of vaccine manufacture and related government oversight. The text is illustrated and replete with suggested readings. Knowledgeable readers will appreciate the detailed index.

The title is a Choice review and is highly recommended (as per the review).

-- J. A. Hewlett, Finger Lakes Community College

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