We are in for a wild ride, and this is just the beginning: 'World-first' vaccine designed by artificial intelligence
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have trialled what they describe as the world’s first AI-designed vaccine component in humans.
The vaccine uses an AI-designed “super-antigen” intended to train the immune system against a broad family of coronaviruses, including existing Covid variants and animal coronaviruses that could potentially cause future pandemics.
Instead of designing a vaccine around one current virus strain, researchers fed AI genetic data from many known coronaviruses. The AI then designed an antigen meant to trigger immune protection across the whole virus family, even if the virus mutates or jumps from animals to humans.
The first human trial involved 39 people and mainly tested safety. The immune response was described as modest, but the result is still seen as promising because it shows that an AI-designed vaccine antigen can be tested in humans.
A larger study with around 200 people will now examine how well the vaccine actually trains the immune system.
