* Originally in: SF_Reality

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

Date:
Fri, 05 Jun 2026 17:30:00 +0000

The research team hope that the new AI development method could help create vaccines that target a whole family of viruses: 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. 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 doesnt 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 wont 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.

Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/this-is-a-fundamental-shift-in-how-we-prepare-fo r-pandemics-researchers-used-ai-and-known-genetic-codes-to-develop-a-fundament ally-new-vaccine-that-could-help-speed-up-the-roll-out-vaccines-to-benefit-peo ple-all-over-the-world

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