Comment Drug delivery problem (Score 2) 11
We should spend money instead on the biggest barrier to that prevents humans from curing virtually any disease -- the drug delivery problem. All other problems solvability is difficult only because of the fact that we haven't a solution to it.
"How do you deliver a large payload into every and any cell of the human body?"
The closest tech we have to that is "LNP (for mRNA) + protein binder" or Adenovirus vector.
Small molecules can be delivered into every cell, however small notoriously molecules go off target and even if it didn't they cannot fix every problem in a cell.
If you can efficiently deliver a large payload—such as 15 kilobases of mRNA or an equivalent amount of protein—directly into the cytoplasm of every cell, you can essentially equip each cell with an internal diagnostic lab. This setup can detect abnormal or harmful cellular activity by sensing internal mRNA or aberrant proteins. If a cell is identified as malfunctioning or cancerous, you can then either correct the defect or initiate destruction of the cell. There are numerous ways to do the detection of unwanted mRNA and, if present, perform an action, however they all require large molecular "machines" (proteins/RNA).
