Almost without exception, scientific breakthroughs are not epistemological orphans. Historians of science have developed a body of scholarship on this, and the cases arising in our era continue to confirm the phenomenon. The work by Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman that proved foundational for the subsequent development of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 had its antecedent roots yet is also a striking example of both serendipity and their persistence. Their receipt of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was greatly deserved and, as Alfred Nobel likely envisioned the broad impact to be for all the prizes, affirms to the public at large that there is such a thing as the scientific method, and that there are such things as facts. The importance of society recognizing this has always been critically important, perhaps never more so than now.

中文翻译：

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2023 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖的资助者以及经验教训

几乎毫无例外，科学突破都不是认识论的孤儿。科学史学家对此已经形成了一套学术体系，而我们这个时代出现的案例继续证实了这一现象。Katalin Karikó 和 Drew Weissman 的工作被证明为随后开发 COVID-19 mRNA 疫苗奠定了基础，该工作有其先前的根源，但也是偶然性和持久性的一个引人注目的例子。他们获得 2023 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖是当之无愧的，正如阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔可能设想的那样，所有奖项都会产生广泛的影响，向广大公众确认存在科学方法这样的东西，并且有事实之类的事情。社会认识到这一点始终至关重要，也许从来没有像现在这样重要。