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Scientists in the UK have tested a new kind of vaccine in people for the first time, and part of it wasn’t designed by humans at all, but by artificial intelligence.
The team from the University of Cambridge says the experimental vaccine could eventually protect not only against all known COVID-19 variants but also against related viruses found in animals that could one day spread to humans.
The big idea is to move away from the current “one virus at a time” approach and instead build a vaccine that works against an entire family of viruses.
To do this, the AI analyzed the genetic makeup of thousands of coronaviruses, including the ones behind COVID-19 and SARS. It then identified the parts of the virus that stay the same even when the virus changes over time.
Those stable parts were used as the base for the vaccine, in theory giving the immune system a kind of “universal recognition” of the virus family.
Unlike the COVID mRNA vaccines most people are familiar with, this new version uses DNA technology. Researchers say DNA vaccines are more stable and easier to store, which could make them more practical in countries where refrigeration is a challenge.
There’s also a different way of giving it. Instead of a needle, the vaccine can be delivered using a high-pressure stream that pushes it through the skin, a method researchers say could make vaccination quicker and less painful.
Experts say the real value of this kind of research is not just about COVID but about future outbreaks we don’t even know about yet.
The hope is that so-called “broad” vaccines like this could help the world respond faster to new diseases instead of always playing catch-up once a virus is already spreading.
It could also change how flu vaccines are made. Right now, scientists have to guess which strain of flu will dominate each year. If they get it wrong, protection drops. A more universal approach could remove that guesswork.
For now, the vaccine is still in early testing stages. But researchers say the fact that it has already been tested in humans is an important first step toward a very different way of fighting future pandemics, one where AI helps design protection before the next virus even arrives.
*Source: The Conversation
