Better Flu Vaccines with Computer Algorithm
Rebecca Kutzer-Rice | Date: 07-20-10 | Comments: 1
- Researchers at the University of Miami and Stony Brook University are using a computer algorithm to create safer flu vaccines rapidly. The research could lead to better vaccines for other viruses and the creation of synthetic organisms.
When the swine flu pandemic swept across the world last
winter, many feared an effective vaccine would come too late. Luckily,
scientists developed a vaccine relatively quickly. For future influenza viruses,
however, fears remain. Researchers at the University
of Miami (UM) and Stony
Brook University
have developed a computer algorithm to quickly and accurately create flu
vaccines in the hopes that future influenza pandemics could be stopped before
they start.
The flu virus is particularly dangerous because it
can quickly mutate before vaccines are created.
Influenza is a particularly dangerous virus because of its
frequent and erratic changes in genetic code. By the time scientists have
created safe vaccines, the virus has often mutated to a different form. The new
method of creating flu vaccines, which uses a computer algorithm, is rapid
enough to catch the virus before it has a chance to mutate.
A common vaccine is the live vaccine. In this type of
vaccine, scientists weaken a virus until it can no longer cause illness in
patients. The weakened virus is then injected to cause immunity from stronger
versions. Although this kind of vaccine is usually quite effective, it can be
quite dangerous. The genes of the weakened virus can mutate and cause illness.
The new method of vaccine creation uses a computer to weaken
the virus. Algorithms compute the best places in a virus’s genetic code to make
changes. The computer chooses specific proteins in which changes can both
weaken the virus and prevent future mutations.
"We have been able to produce an entirely novel method
to systematically design vaccines using computer algorithms," says Dimitris Papamichail, Assistant Professor of
Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences at UM and co-author of the
study, according
to the press release. "Our approach is not only useful for influenza;
it is also applicable to a wide range of viruses."
The researchers believe their work could have broad medical
applications, such as creating synthetic organisms. Their research is
forthcoming in Nature Biotechnology.
