AI-designed vaccine passes first human trial, offering broad protection against coronaviruses

Researchers Successfully Trial AI-Designed Vaccine for the First Time

A new AI-designed vaccine has proved successful in its initial clinical trials. According to the researchers, this is the first time that a vaccine using an active component designed entirely through computer simulations has been tested in humans. Developed by the University of Cambridge and university spin-out DIOSynVax (DVX), the universal sarbecovirus vaccine appears to be safe and to have no significant side effects. The trial involved 39 healthy volunteers. The researchers say they used an AI-designed 'super-antigen' which could theoretically provide lasting protection against a broad range of viruses within a given family, even as they mutate. The approach could potentially be applied to entire virus groups such as Ebola viruses or, in this case, sarbecoviruses. Sarbecoviruses are a group of coronaviruses that include both Covid-19 and SARS, a respiratory illness thought to have killed almost 1,000 in an epidemic in the early 2000s. The researchers say they used machine learning on genetic sequence data to design a super-antigen containing features common across the entire sarbecovirus group, including strains that have not yet emerged. An antigen is the active ingredient in a vaccine that triggers an immune response in humans. Traditionally, researchers use antigens taken from specific viruses that already exist, making this a novel approach. Professor Jonathan Heeney, from the University of Cambridge's Department of Veterinary Medicine, said: "We've overcome the problem of traditional vaccines, which have limited protection." He went on to claim that this means researchers can escape the "constant cycle of chasing the virus variants circulating in humans." A larger Phase 2 trial of the vaccine is planned, which will assess the vaccine's ability to induce protective immune responses in "a wider and more diverse population." Huge amounts of money have been invested in companies that claim they can use AI to discover new drugs. Pharmaceutical giants such as Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, and Novartis have all signed multi-billion-dollar deals in recent years with companies working on AI-driven drug discovery. Meanwhile, US-based biotech start-up Recursion, which said it would use machine learning to accelerate pharmaceutical discovery, reached a valuation of more than $5 billion following its IPO in 2021. High-profile figures like Microsoft founder Bill Gates have also been vocal about how they think that AI will transform drug discovery in the future.

World's first AI-designed vaccine explained

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed what they describe as a fundamentally new type of vaccine using artificial intelligence (AI). The vaccine's key component was designed entirely by AI and has now been tested in people for the first time. The goal is ambitious: a single vaccine that works not just against all known human coronavirus variants, but against related bat viruses that could jump from animals to humans and cause future pandemics. Traditional vaccines train our immune system to recognise one specific virus. The problem is that viruses mutate. When they change enough, the vaccine stops working, which is why we need a new flu shot every year and why COVID vaccines have been updated repeatedly since 2021. AI offers a way around this. By analysing genetic data from thousands of related viruses, it can identify the parts that stay the same across different strains and that are unlikely to change over time. Target those stable features, and you have a vaccine that should work against the whole family, not just the strain you started with. This is exactly what the Cambridge team did. They used AI to scan viruses from the sarbecovirus family, which includes the viruses that cause both SARS and COVID, as well as a range of animal coronaviruses - looking for shared features that evolution has left largely untouched. Those features became the basis of the vaccine. DNA vaccines While many people are familiar with the mRNA shots used during the pandemic, this new vaccine uses DNA. DNA vaccines are generally more stable than mRNA vaccines, making them easier to store and transport. A significant advantage in lower-income countries where "cold-chain" infrastructure is limited. They can also be administered without needles. A high-pressure stream of liquid delivers the vaccine through the skin, making administration less painful and easier to scale up during an outbreak. Could it protect against future pandemics? These practical advantages matter most if the vaccine itself can do something no existing jab can: protect against viruses we haven't encountered yet. Broad-spectrum vaccines could change the way the world responds to emerging infectious diseases. By offering much wider protection than traditional vaccines, they could provide rapid immunity against new and emerging viral threats. This would equip public health officials with tools to stop future outbreaks in their tracks before they have a chance to turn into global pandemics. They could also transform our approach to more familiar diseases. Influenza is a prime target because it exists in many different strains and evolves so rapidly. Scientists have to predict which strains will dominate each flu season, and they guess wrong, vaccine effectiveness can suffer. A universal flu vaccine that targets features shared across multiple strains could eventually end the annual race to keep up with the virus. And the Ebola virus shows why this matters right now. The recent outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is driven by the Bundibugyo strain, which bypasses existing vaccines. While researchers rush to create a new vaccine specifically for this strain, local communities remain at high risk. A broad-spectrum vaccine designed to cover an entire virus family could transform that picture. What the trial found This is the first human trial of an AI-designed vaccine. The results showed that this DNA vaccine was able to stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies that can recognise different types of sarbecoviruses. The technology was found to be safe and well tolerated. This is an exciting advance because it demonstrates how AI has the potential to design variant-proof vaccines against future pandemic threats. The needle-free delivery system could also make the vaccine easier to administer and distribute worldwide. However, there is more work to do. Although the results in this study are encouraging, the immune responses following vaccination were modest. It was also uncertain how long the protection lasts and whether further boosters will be required. Larger trials are also needed to determine whether the vaccine can prevent or reduce virus infections in the real world. A universal vaccine remains a few years away. And any new vaccine must still pass larger trials to prove it is safe, effective and provides lasting protection. But this study shows the goal is getting closer - and AI may help us get there faster.

AI-designed universal coronavirus vaccine passes first human trial

A new type of universal coronavirus vaccine has passed its first human clinical trial, marking an important step toward broader protection against future virus outbreaks. Developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge and the university spinout company DIOSynVax (DVX) Ltd, the experimental vaccine was found to be safe and caused no significant side effects in a study involving 39 healthy volunteers. Unlike conventional vaccines that target specific virus strains, this vaccine was designed to protect against multiple members of the Sarbeco coronavirus family. This group includes SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as SARS and several related bat coronaviruses that could potentially spill over into humans in the future. The trial showed that the vaccine stimulated immune responses not only against SARS-CoV-2 and SARS, but also against related bat viruses that have not yet infected humans. The findings were published in the Journal of Infection. AI Designed Vaccine Technology The study also marked another milestone. It was the first time a vaccine whose active ingredient was created entirely through computer simulations was tested in people. Researchers used artificial intelligence and machine learning to design what they call a "super-antigen." The antigen is the component of a vaccine that trains the immune system to recognize and fight infection. Rather than focusing on a single virus strain, the AI system analyzed genetic information from Sarbeco coronaviruses collected through surveillance programs worldwide. Using this information, it identified features shared across the entire virus group and combined them into a single vaccine antigen. The goal is to create protection not only against known viruses, but also against future strains that have not yet emerged. "This trial proves the safety of an entirely new way of designing vaccines. The technology uses an AI-designed 'super-antigen' to provide lasting protection against a broad range of viruses -- for example the Ebola group, or Sarbeco coronavirus group -- even as they mutate." Researchers believe the same strategy could eventually be applied to other virus families, including Ebola viruses and influenza viruses. Moving Beyond Constant Vaccine Updates Many current vaccines, including seasonal flu shots and updated COVID-19 vaccines, are designed around virus strains already circulating in people. Because viruses evolve continuously, vaccines often need regular reformulation and annual updates. Professor Jonathan Heeney from the Lab of Viral Zoonotics in the University of Cambridge's Department of Veterinary Medicine, who led the scientific research, said the new approach could help solve that problem. "We've converted vaccine development from being reactive to being future proof. Our vaccines will continue to provide protection against viruses even as they mutate into new strains," said Heeney. He added: "We've overcome the problem of traditional vaccines, which have limited protection. It means we can escape the constant cycle of chasing the virus variants circulating in humans and updating the vaccines to try to catch up, like a dog chasing its tail." By targeting features shared across an entire virus family, researchers hope the vaccine will remain effective even as new variants appear. Human Clinical Trial Results Volunteers between the ages of 18 and 50 received the vaccine at National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Facilities in Southampton and Cambridge. The study was sponsored by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHSFT). The vaccine's super-antigen can be used with several different vaccine delivery platforms. In this trial, researchers delivered it as a DNA vaccine using a micro fluid jet system. Because the method does not require a needle, it could offer an alternative for people who are uncomfortable with injections. Researchers also believe it may make large scale vaccination campaigns easier and faster, particularly in settings where traditional injections are more difficult to administer. Before human testing began, animal studies showed the vaccine could generate strong immune responses against multiple coronaviruses. The vaccine still requires additional testing before it could become available for public use. A larger Phase 2 study is planned to evaluate immune responses in a broader and more diverse group of participants and to confirm the vaccine's ability to generate strong, wide ranging protection. Preparing for Future Pandemic Threats Scientists say the need for broader vaccine protection remains urgent because many potentially dangerous viruses continue to circulate in animals around the world. "Viruses like Influenza, Coronaviruses and the Ebola group are evolving continuously and by the time vaccines are rolled out, they may be poorly matched -- the current "reactive" vaccine system struggles to keep pace," said Professor Saul Faust from the University of Southampton, the trial's chief investigator. He added: "This new class of universal vaccines are future-proofed. They not only protect against many variants simultaneously, but potentially against related viruses that haven't yet emerged and spilt over to humans. "If we can develop and clinically advance this new class of vaccines before a virus outbreak begins, millions of lives could be saved, lockdowns avoided and the economy preserved." Professor Marian Knight, Scientific Director for NIHR Infrastructure, described the results as an important advance. "The remarkable success of this AI-designed 'super-antigen' trial marks a pivotal leap forward in our ability to deliver broad, lasting viral protection." She added: "This milestone was only made possible through partnerships between the life sciences sector and our world-class NIHR infrastructure in Cambridge and Southampton, whose Clinical Research Facilities provided the vital expertise and environment needed to safely fast-track this innovation, and bring it one big step closer to patients." Researchers note that SARS-CoV-2 and other Sarbeco coronaviruses remain public health concerns. At the same time, many other viruses continue to circulate in animals and could potentially cross into humans, although it is impossible to predict which virus might emerge next or when. The project was funded primarily by Innovate UK. DIOSynVax, short for Digitally Immune Optimised Synthetic Vaccines, was founded in 2017 as a University of Cambridge spinout with support from Cambridge Enterprise, the university's commercialization arm. The company's vaccine development pipeline also includes candidates targeting seasonal influenza, pandemic influenza threats, hemorrhagic fever viruses, and coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2. Jonathan Heeney is Professor of Comparative Pathology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Darwin College.

The University of Cambridge says it successfully tested a vaccine with an AI-designed antigen - Engadget

The "super-antigen" could provide long-term protection against a wide range of diseases spread by humans. Wherever you stand on the role of AI in the future of humanity, it has undeniably proved useful in the field of medical research. And now a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge have utilized the technology to create what they call a universal vaccine that could be used to prevent future pandemics before they take hold. It's the first time that a vaccine with an active component designed entirely by a computer has been used in human trials, which reported no significant side effects. The vaccine was given to 39 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18-50 at two UK medical facilities located in Southampton and Cambridge. It was designed to protect people against a number of Sarbeco coronaviruses, a group of viruses that include SARS-CoV-2, which was responsible for the global COVID pandemic in 2020. The groundbreaking antigen -- the active ingredient in a vaccine -- triggered a protective immune response in the volunteers against SARS-CoV-2 and SARS, as well as related bat viruses that could cause pandemics in the future. Because of the way the vaccine was developed, it will likely also provide protection against diseases that haven't even emerged yet. Unlike most vaccines, which are developed in reaction to an outbreak and struggle to keep up with virus mutations, this new "super-antigen" could provide an all-in-one solution to diseases like flu and Ebola that jump between humans. "We've converted vaccine development from being reactive to being future proof. Our vaccines will continue to provide protection against viruses even as they mutate into new strains," said Professor Jonathan Heeney from the Lab of Viral Zoonotics, University of Cambridge's Department of Veterinary Medicine, which lead the research. "We've overcome the problem of traditional vaccines, which have limited protection. It means we can escape the constant cycle of chasing the virus variants circulating in humans and updating the vaccines to try to catch up, like a dog chasing its tail." To create it, the research team fed the AI model all available genetic sequence data for Sarbeco coronaviruses that had been logged around the world. They then used machine learning to design an antigen that contained features common with the whole group of viruses. As the sample size was relatively small, the next phase of the trial will give the vaccine to a broader and more diverse number of participants and again assess its effectiveness.

'World-first' vaccine designed by Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence has been used to develop a "fundamentally new" type of vaccine that could protect against large swathes of viruses and prevent pandemics, say researchers. The team at the University of Cambridge say it is the first time a vaccine's key component has been designed entirely by AI and then trialled in people. The vaccine was engineered to work on all coronaviruses which would include all Covid variants and viruses that infect animals, but could start the next pandemic. The work is still in the early stages, but the team is already developing separate vaccines that could tackle flu and Ebola. Vaccines teach our bodies how to spot an infection to increase our chances of fighting it off. But some viruses are adept at changing their appearance - or mutating - so vaccines can quickly go out of date. It's why Covid and winter flu vaccines need to be regularly updated. "We're always behind," said Prof Jonathan Heeney, from the University of Cambridge, adding "what we're trying to do is get ahead of the curve" and so far ahead they could protect against new outbreaks or pandemics. Normally vaccines are designed using a current strain of a virus. The Cambridge researchers took known genetic codes - the instruction manuals of life - from a range of coronaviruses that had been recorded by surveillance programmes hunting for potential viral threats. These genetic codes were analysed by an artificial intelligence. It then designed a "super-antigen" that could train the immune system in such a way it gave protection against the whole family of viruses - even if they mutated or a new infection jumped from animals to people. Antigens are the critical components of vaccines as this is what the immune system learns to attack. Heeney said this was the first time an antigen designed by AI had been trialled in people. He said the technology was "surprising all of us" and it was "amazing what we can do with it for the good of humanity". Heeney told BBC News: "This is about making vaccines that protect us, not just from today's viruses, but protect us from what can cause the next outbreak or disease. "This is a fundamental shift in how we prepare for pandemics." The trials, in 39 people, were designed to assess if such vaccines were safe. A second study - involving around 200 people - will give a greater understanding of how well it is training the immune system. The findings detailed in the Journal of Infection said the impact on the immune system was "modest", but they are still generating excitement. Prof Saul Faust, who performed some of the trials at the University of Southampton, said the AI design "definitely has potential" and was "really exciting". He told the BBC: "What's really interesting is the technology is an awful lot better at designing vaccines for potential pandemics when viruses are changing." The Cambridge team are already performing animal research on universal seasonal flu vaccines that would not need to be adapted every year and an H5N1-bird flu vaccine, in case the virus that is currently devastating bird populations became a human pandemic. They are also looking at a vaccine for viral haemorrhagic fevers, which would include Ebola species. The current outbreak in the Democratic Republic Congo is being caused by a species that does not have a vaccine developed for it yet. Prof Andy Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, was not involved in the study, but said this approach was generating compelling evidence in animal research. "It's fascinating data and people wouldn't have predicted they'd be able to generate these immune responses," he told BBC News. The real test, he says, is what happens in the human trials as our immune systems are different to laboratory mice as ours have been shaped by years of infections. More broadly he said artificial intelligence was going to be a "game changer" for vaccine research and that AI tools had the potential to predict how the immune system respond would respond to a vaccine making development much faster and would "save lives". Prof Marian Knight, scientific director for National Institute for Health and Care Research, said: "The remarkable success of this AI-designed 'super-antigen' trial marks a pivotal leap forward in our ability to deliver broad, lasting viral protection."

Researchers Are Using AI to Create Vaccines -- and It's Working

pEVAC-PS is the first experimental vaccine designed completely with AI to be tested in a human trial. As bad a reputation as artificial intelligence has gotten in the public eye as of late, it's helping to push medicine further. Case in point, an experimental pan-coronavirus vaccine developed with AI has just passed a phase I trial in the UK. Scientists at the University of Cambridge used AI to find a kink in the armor of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the cause of covid-19. In healthy human volunteers, the vaccine candidate appeared to be safe and generated an immune response to multiple coronaviruses. The researchers are also hoping to use their platform to develop broadly effective vaccines against flu and the Ebola virus. "We've overcome the problem of traditional vaccines, which have limited protection," said study author Jonathan Heeney, a researcher from the Lab of Viral Zoonotics at Cambridge, in a statement from the university. "It means we can escape the constant cycle of chasing the virus variants circulating in humans and updating the vaccines to try to catch up, like a dog chasing its tail." The universal holy grail of vaccines Vaccines train the immune system to recognize a germ before it actually infects us. This can be done by exposing the body to a weakened or killed version of the pathogen or a piece of it, known as an antigen. Some vaccines can provide sustained and even lifelong immunity, typically because the germ doesn't change enough in meaningful ways to avoid this recognition. Yet other germs, like coronaviruses and influenza viruses, mutate constantly, shifting the parts of themselves that today's vaccines use for training. As such, these vaccines have to be constantly updated and taken to ensure a decent level of immunity. To get around this limitation, some scientists are trying to develop universal vaccines that rely on distinct, rarely changing antigens found in a wide range of the target virus group. What makes this experimental vaccine unique is that the researchers used AI to pinpoint the "super-antigen" deployed as its target. Their model was trained on genetic data collected from all known sarbecoviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the original SARS virus, and bat coronaviruses. Importantly, it's these latter viruses that could someday spill over into humans and trigger the next major epidemic or pandemic (the lineage of SARS and possibly SARS-CoV-2 likely originated in bats). The researchers then tested their vaccine candidate, dubbed pEVAC-PS, on 39 healthy human volunteers -- reportedly the first ever human trial of a vaccine designed completely with AI. It was delivered via a needle-free injection, with people given one of four varying doses. Phase I trials are mainly intended to assess the safety of an experimental drug or vaccine. And pEVAC-PS seemed to do well, with no serious or unexpected adverse events detected during the study. The researchers also found early evidence in their volunteers that the vaccine could produce an immune response to several coronaviruses at once. "In summary, pEVAC-PS was safe and well tolerated, with evidence of cross-reactive binding to conserved sarbecovirus epitopes," the authors wrote in their paper, published last month in the Journal of Infection. What comes next Successful Phase I trials alone are not sturdy proof that a drug or vaccine can work as hoped, only a potentially promising sign. Notably, pEVAC-PS generated modest and variable immune reactions to the coronaviruses the researchers looked at, though this might have been because the volunteers (and most everyone in the world) were extensively exposed to SARS-CoV-2 already. The researchers are next planning to test pEVAC-PS in a Phase II trial. And they've created a spinoff company to further develop the AI platform used to create pEVAC-PS, called DIOSynVax (short for Digitally Immune Optimized Synthetic Vaccines). The team is hopeful that other universal vaccines against pandemic-level threats like flu can be produced with the help of AI. "If we can develop and clinically advance this new class of vaccines before a virus outbreak begins, millions of lives could be saved, lockdowns avoided and the economy preserved," said lead trial researcher Saul Faust from the University of Southampton in a statement.

Scientists use AI to create a 'universal vaccine' that prevents infection even as viruses like COVID-19 evolve

When COVID-19 spread around the world in 2020, scientists worked as fast as possible to create vaccines. Even so, the virus infected millions of people before the first vaccines became available. Researchers at the University of Cambridge hope to prevent that situation in the future. Instead of waiting for a new virus to appear, they are exploring ways to develop vaccines that could protect against entire groups of related viruses before an outbreak begins. Their latest study is an important step toward that goal. The team has completed the first human trial of a vaccine whose main ingredient was designed by a computer. The results show that the vaccine appears safe, although researchers still need to find out how well it can protect people from future coronavirus threats. We are always too late How do most vaccines get made? Scientists wait for a virus to show up, study it, then build a shot to match it. But viruses never sit still and keep changing. So by the time the vaccine reaches us, the virus has often turned into something new, and we start the whole chase over again. Professor Jonathan Heeney, who led the science at Cambridge's Lab of Viral Zoonotics, knows that chase well. "We've overcome the problem of traditional vaccines, which have limited protection. It means we can escape the constant cycle of chasing the virus variants circulating in humans and updating the vaccines to try to catch up, like a dog chasing its tail," he said. Universal vaccine made with AI The team tried something different. Instead of copying a real virus, they let a computer design the key part of the vaccine. That part is called an antigen, and its job is to teach your body what to fight. Together with the Cambridge company DIOSynVax, the researchers used software to build that ingredient and turned it into a vaccine called pEVAC-PS. No one had ever put a computer-designed antigen into a person before. Targeting a family of viruses Most vaccines target just one virus. This one tries to cover a whole family of related viruses at once, the group that includes COVID, the old SARS virus, and others still living in bats that could jump to people someday. By going after what they all share, the vaccine is meant to keep working even when the viruses change. Is the universal vaccine safe? The test ran from late 2021 to late 2023, with 39 healthy people in Southampton and Cambridge. Each got two shots, a month apart. There was no needle involved. A small device pushed the vaccine through the skin instead, which could really help in places where needles are hard to use. On safety, the answer was clear. People handled the vaccine well at every dose. No serious reactions were observed. The side effects were mild, and there were even fewer of them after the second shot. The vaccine was meant to wake up strong, broad protection against several coronaviruses. That mostly did not happen. For most people, their antibody levels barely moved. The team says straight out that the results do not yet show strong or wide protection. It is a letdown, and they do not hide it. The pandemic got in the way But why did it fall flat? A big reason is timing. The test happened right in the middle of the Omicron waves. Almost everyone already had a lot of immunity from past shots and past infections. Some even caught COVID during the study. When people already start with high protection, it is really hard to see if a new vaccine is adding anything on top. Small groups made it harder still. When the researchers looked closely, they found something encouraging. People did make antibodies aimed at the parts of the virus that barely change, the very targets the computer was trying to hit. It is not proof that the vaccine works yet. But it is a sign the idea is sound and pointed the right way. Why this still matters So where does that leave us? With a safe vaccine, a clever new method, and a reason to keep going. The dream behind it is bigger than this one shot. "We've converted vaccine development from being reactive to being future proof. Our vaccines will continue to provide protection against viruses even as they mutate into new strains," Heeney said. "If we can develop and clinically advance this new class of vaccines before a virus outbreak begins, millions of lives could be saved, lockdowns avoided and the economy preserved," said Professor Saul Faust of the University of Southampton, who ran the trial. Larger trials come next "The remarkable success of this AI-designed 'super-antigen' trial marks a pivotal leap forward in our ability to deliver broad, lasting viral protection," noted Professor Marian Knight who is a scientific director for NIHR Infrastructure. A bigger test comes next. For now, the message is simple and hopeful: a vaccine that a computer helped design is safe, and it is looking in the right place. After 2020, that feels like something worth holding onto. The study is published in the Journal of Infection. -- - Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates. Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The world's first AI-designed vaccine, explained

The Conversation is an independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists, free for the public. Artificial intelligence isn't just being used to optimise productivity or complete the annoying tasks that we'd rather not do. Scientists have developed what they describe as the world's first AI-designed vaccine. So, how does it work? And what does it mean? In an article originally published by The Conversation, Neil Mabbott, personal chair of immunopathology, University of Edinburgh, explains everything we need to know. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed what they describe as a fundamentally new type of vaccine using artificial intelligence (AI). The vaccine's key component was designed entirely by AI and has now been tested in people for the first time. The goal is ambitious: a single vaccine that works not just against all known human coronavirus variants, but against related bat viruses that could jump from animals to humans and cause future pandemics. Traditional vaccines train our immune system to recognise one specific virus. The problem is that viruses mutate. When they change enough, the vaccine stops working, which is why we need a new flu shot every year and why COVID vaccines have been updated repeatedly since 2021. AI offers a way around this. By analysing genetic data from thousands of related viruses, it can identify the parts that stay the same across different strains and that are unlikely to change over time. Target those stable features, and you have a vaccine that should work against the whole family, not just the strain you started with. This is exactly what the Cambridge team did. They used AI to scan viruses from the sarbecovirus family, which includes the viruses that cause both SARS and COVID, as well as a range of animal coronaviruses - looking for shared features that evolution has left largely untouched. Those features became the basis of the vaccine. DNA vaccines While many people are familiar with the mRNA shots used during the pandemic, this new vaccine uses DNA. DNA vaccines are generally more stable than mRNA vaccines, making them easier to store and transport. A significant advantage in lower-income countries where "cold-chain" infrastructure is limited. They can also be administered without needles. A high-pressure stream of liquid delivers the vaccine through the skin, making administration less painful and easier to scale up during an outbreak. Want more science and tech news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable's Light Speed newsletter today. Could it protect against future pandemics? These practical advantages matter most if the vaccine itself can do something no existing jab can: protect against viruses we haven't encountered yet. Broad-spectrum vaccines could change the way the world responds to emerging infectious diseases. By offering much wider protection than traditional vaccines, they could provide rapid immunity against new and emerging viral threats. This would equip public health officials with tools to stop future outbreaks in their tracks before they have a chance to turn into global pandemics. They could also transform our approach to more familiar diseases. Influenza is a prime target because it exists in many different strains and evolves so rapidly. Scientists have to predict which strains will dominate each flu season, and they guess wrong, vaccine effectiveness can suffer. A universal flu vaccine that targets features shared across multiple strains could eventually end the annual race to keep up with the virus. And the Ebola virus shows why this matters right now. The recent outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is driven by the Bundibugyo strain, which bypasses existing vaccines. While researchers rush to create a new vaccine specifically for this strain, local communities remain at high risk. A broad-spectrum vaccine designed to cover an entire virus family could transform that picture. What the trial found This is the first human trial of an AI-designed vaccine. The results showed that this DNA vaccine was able to stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies that can recognise different types of sarbecoviruses. The technology was found to be safe and well tolerated. This is an exciting advance because it demonstrates how AI has the potential to design variant-proof vaccines against future pandemic threats. The needle-free delivery system could also make the vaccine easier to administer and distribute worldwide. However, there is more work to do. Although the results in this study are encouraging, the immune responses following vaccination were modest. It was also uncertain how long the protection lasts and whether further boosters will be required. Larger trials are also needed to determine whether the vaccine can prevent or reduce virus infections in the real world. A universal vaccine remains a few years away. And any new vaccine must still pass larger trials to prove it is safe, effective and provides lasting protection. But this study shows the goal is getting closer - and AI may help us get there faster. This article was originally published by The Conversation.

'This is a fundamental shift in how we prepare for pandemics': Researchers used AI and known genetic codes to develop a 'fundamentally new' vaccine that 'could help speed up the roll out vaccines to benefit people all over the world'

* Researchers analyzed antigens from a family of viruses to create a "super-antigen" * The new development method could help quickly create safe new vaccines for pandemics * AI vaccines could be developed to combat Ebola, seasonal flu viruses, and bird flu In a world-first, researchers at the University of Cambridge have used artificial intelligence to develop a new vaccine. By using genetic code gathered from global virus surveillance programs, the researchers have pieced together a "super-antigen" using AI, capable of defending the human body from an entire family of pathogens - even if they mutate. The vaccine has already undergone a human trial targeting coronaviruses, and the findings show that while the effects on the immune system were "modest", the science shows great promise as a way to quickly develop vaccines for viruses capable of pandemic-level infection. Early stages of AI developed vaccines The University of Cambridge research team used an AI model to analyze the antigens present in a family of viruses. Similar to the DNA of our cells, antigens are the parts of viruses that the immune system recognizes in order to trigger an immune response. If the immune system doesn't recognize an antigen as hostile, then the virus can quickly replicate and cause an infection. The same can be true if a virus evolves or mutates, as the immune system won't immediately recognize the new antigen. "We're always behind," Prof Jonathan Heeney, from the University of Cambridge, told BBC News. "What we're trying to do is get ahead of the curve. This is about making vaccines that protect us, not just from today's viruses, but protect us from what can cause the next outbreak or disease. This is a fundamental shift in how we prepare for pandemics." The vaccine is due to undergo a second trial involving 200 people to provide a greater understanding of the effects on the human body, and its effectiveness on tackling viral infections. Prof Saul Faust, who performed some of the trials at the University of Southampton, said, "What's really interesting is the technology is an awful lot better at designing vaccines for potential pandemics when viruses are changing." Where typical vaccine development for a new virus can take upwards of a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars, there is hope that AI can help quickly develop vaccines that are safe and widely effective, reducing the need to develop highly specialized vaccines to target specific viruses, and instead develop a single vaccine to target an entire viral family. The technology also shows promise in treating viral haemorrhagic fevers, such as the Ebola virus, as well as seasonal flu vaccines and the H5N1-bird flu virus which has the potential to evolve to infect humans, which experts predict could cause a global pandemic. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

First AI-designed 'universal vaccine' tested in humans: UK researchers

A groundbreaking vaccine, designed entirely by artificial intelligence, has been tested in humans for the first time. This experimental jab aims to protect against a wide range of viruses, including those that caused SARS, MERS, and Covid-19. Early trials involving a small group showed a modest effect on immune systems. A vaccine targeting a broad range of viruses that was designed using artificial intelligence had a "modest" effect on immune systems in a small, early trial, according to a new study. The trial marks the first time a vaccine whose active ingredient was entirely designed by AI has been tested in humans, researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK said on Friday. The experimental jab is intended to be a "universal vaccine" which protects people against a range of viruses that have previously sparked deadly outbreaks including SARS, MERS and Covid-19. The researchers expressed hopes that this type of vaccine could one day help fend off future pandemics. "We've converted vaccine development from being reactive to being future proof," Cambridge researcher and study co-author Jonathan Heeney said in a statement. Currently, vaccines for viruses such as the flu and Covid have to be regularly updated to target the latest strains. But the new vaccine aims to produce an immune response that will protect against many pathogens - including some circulating among wild animals that might jump over into humans in the future. "It means we can escape the constant cycle of chasing the virus variants circulating in humans and updating the vaccines to try to catch up, like a dog chasing its tail," Heeney explained. To design the vaccine's active component, called the antigen, the researchers used a machine learning algorithm trained on genetic data for Sarbeco coronaviruses recorded across the world. Nearly 40 people participated in the trial between late 2021 and 2023. In the study, the researchers acknowledged the lingering Covid pandemic complicated the results. It was a phase 1 trial, which test whether something is safe and well tolerated, and are not intended to fully measure how effective it is. No serious side effects were recorded. However the vaccine only had a "modest" impact on the participants' immune systems, according to the study published in the Journal of Infection. Data collected during the trial does "not support a robust vaccine-induced increase in antibody responses beyond pre-existing levels", it added. A phase 2 trial involving more people will next find out more about how protective the vaccine could be.

AI is being used to develop a "fundamentally new" vaccine to protect against pandemics

The hope is that the innovation will be able to treat multiple variants of viruses at once, potentially tackling the flu, Ebola, and Covid. For all of the frustrations artificial intelligence causes in the world of entertainment, the technology is proving to be rather useful in the realm of science. As per BBC News, it's reported that AI is being utilised in an effort of creating "fundamentally new" kinds of vaccines that will have broader applications, tackle multiple strains of a virus, and potentially be a way to combat the common flu, Ebola, and even Covid. It's the team at the University of Cambridge who are using AI to develop new vaccines, with the process seeing AI develop a key component of a vaccine and then trialling it on humans. The aim is that instead of a vaccine targeting the current strain of a virus before it mutates and makes the vaccine obsolete or less impactful, this new style will be able to target all strains of a virus, potentially stamping out the next pandemic before it could ever take shape. AI takes the genetic code of a virus and then proceeds to make a "super-antigen" that could train a human's immune system to be able to fight the various different strains of this virus instead of needing a new vaccine to be able to do so. Speaking about the innovation, Professor Jonathan Heeney from the University of Cambridge has said that "this is a fundamental shift in how we prepare for pandemics" and that this is "about making vaccines that protect us, not just from today's viruses, but protect us from what can cause the next outbreak or disease." So far, trials are currently focussed on small sample groups but there are plans to scale up in the near future for a second trial that includes 200 people, up from 39 in the first test.