AI-Developed Vaccine Tested On Humans For The First Time
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Scientists have used AI to develop a revolutionary vaccine capable of protecting against a wide range of viruses.
A team from the University of Cambridge announced that, for the first time ever, a key component of a vaccine has been designed entirely by artificial intelligence and then tested on humans.
Scientists at the University of Cambridge and its subsidiary, DIOSynVax, developed a universal vaccine against sarbecoviruses. The vaccine was shown to be safe and without significant side effects. Thirty-nine healthy volunteers participated in the trial. The vaccine is based on an AI-designed “superantigen,” which theoretically could provide long-lasting protection against a wide range of viruses within this family, even as they mutate. This approach could potentially be applied to entire groups of viruses, such as Ebola viruses.
Sarbecoviruses are a group of coronaviruses that includes COVID-19 and SARS (atypical pneumonia). Machine learning algorithms were used to develop the superantigen, which helped analyze genetic sequence data. The superantigen contains common features across the entire sarbecovirus family, including strains that have not yet emerged. The antigen is the active component of the vaccine that triggers an immune response in humans. Antigens taken from existing specific viruses are typically used, so the new approach is innovative. It will free scientists from the “constant cycle of searching for virus variants circulating among humans,” the project’s authors noted.
The team is also currently conducting animal testing. Research is underway on a universal flu vaccine that would not require annual updates, as well as a vaccine against H5N1 (bird flu) to prevent a potential human pandemic.
