It is not necessary to go back too far in time to remember the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this process, the development of vaccines that helped (and how) to control the disease was essential.
The numbers don’t lie and, as a rule, deaths and serious illnesses have decreased significantly. That said, to avoid going through the same thing again, a vaccine is being developed that can combat many other pandemics.
The vaccine protects against viruses that have not yet been identified
According to The Conversation, it can protect you from several viruses that haven’t even been identified yet. The scientists behind this innovation aim to achieve one main objective: “proactive vaccinology”.
For now, tests are being carried out on rats. Generally speaking, vaccines usually act against just one antigen, which fights a single virus. The new alternative could respond to numerous viruses.
In previous studies, one of the reasons for the great responsiveness was due to the success of the mosaic nanoparticles. According to the same source, these have the ability to bind different proteins and act as a kind of “superglue”. Even so, this vaccine was somewhat complicated, unlike the one under development, which appears to be simpler.
“We achieved this by genetically fusing RBDs from four different sarbecoviruses to form a single protein that we call a ‘quartet’. We then use a type of protein glue to attach these quartets to a ‘protein nanocage’ to make the vaccine” – explain the scientists (via The Conversation).
In relation to this scientific innovation, it is known that the focus is, in particular, on those that cause Covid, Sars and many other bat viruses. It goes without saying the negative impact these can have on humanity.
Tests on mice have been successful
As the same article explains, when a virus evolves, some parts change and others remain unchanged. Having said that, the big news is related to the high capacity to respond to unchanged parts of the virus.
The vaccine is the result of a partnership between three high-quality universities: Oxford, Cambridge and Caltech. During the testing period, scientists noticed that the mice produced antibodies capable of neutralizing numerous viruses, some of which were not even present in the vaccine.
This could give rise to a solution that can also serve human beings. Therefore, the next step should be to test people. According to scientists, the responses have been quite encouraging.
We just have to wait and see the outcome of this new vaccine. If its potential is confirmed, it is possible that it could prevent possible pandemics in the future.
