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CAMBRIDGE: Known by acronyms that need no explanation, viruses like Covid, Sars and Ebola conjure up images of medics in protective suits and spark fear in populations worldwide.
Vaccines for individual viruses have provided some relief, but new strains pose a constant challenge. Now, new AI-aided vaccine technology developed by scientists at Cambridge University offer potential immunity against whole families of viruses and could even prevent the next pandemic, according to researchers.
Professor Jonathan Heeney of Cambridge University likened the new technique to having the “master key” for an apartment block. The main problem with vaccines, he said, was that they were “all historic” so the strain you are vaccinated with might not be the one you end up being exposed to in six months time.
Vaccines were “always chasing the virus”, the project lead researcher said in an interview. “So we’re getting rid of that variability by making something that’s across the board recognisable by your immune system that should cover you from all these eventualities ... a real big paradigm change,” he said.
