Instructions for Life: How DNA Insights and Peptides better lives

Peptides are made of chains of amino acids and perform very important tasks in cells as well as organisms, which is why many of them are classified as hormones. Peptide hormones control many critical functions in the body, ranging from blood sugar levels (insulin and glucagon), blood pressure (angiotensin) and even onset of puberty (gonadotrophin releasing hormone). The infamous Wegovy and Mounjaro are based on peptides that come from the gut and are helping to treat obesity. Peptides are fantastic molecules and play important roles in maintaining our health.

Every cell in our body runs on a set of genetic instructions, which sometimes goes wrong. Genetic medicines are all about safely tweaking, adding, or sending new instructions when something does go wrong. Traditional drugs act on the body, but genetic medicine acts with the body—teaching cells to make a helpful protein, silence a harmful one, or even fix faulty code. mRNA based medicines act like short lived messages, while gene editing can make permanent repairs. How we deliver these medicines is key, which is where lipid nanoparticles—tiny protective bubbles—come into play.