'World's First' Vaccine Designed Using AI
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A team of researchers at the University of Cambridge has developed a new type of vaccine using Artificial Intelligence (AI). They claim that this 'fundamentally new' vaccine is capable of providing protection against numerous viruses and preventing pandemics.
The researchers say this is the first time a vaccine's core component has been designed entirely by AI and then tested on humans.
This vaccine has been created to work against all variants of the coronavirus. Additionally, it can also work against viruses that infect animals and could potentially cause future pandemics.
The research is still in its early stages, but the researchers are already developing separate vaccines capable of combating flu and Ebola.
A vaccine teaches our body's immune system to recognize an infection, thereby increasing the chances of preventing it. However, some viruses can constantly change their form (mutate), which can render a vaccine ineffective. This is why vaccines need to be updated regularly.
Typically, a vaccine is created to target a specific current strain of a virus. But the Cambridge researchers followed a different approach. They collected known genetic codes (the instructional blueprints of life) of various coronaviruses identified through surveillance programs.
These genetic data were then analyzed using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The AI created a 'super antigen' capable of training the immune system to provide protection against the entire coronavirus family. This remains effective even if the virus acquires new mutations or if a new infection spreads from animals to humans.
An antigen is a crucial component of a vaccine, as it is what the immune system learns to identify and attack.
Source: BBC
