AI tool creates highly effective and stable mRNA vaccines for COVID-19.
An AI tool called LinearDesign has been developed by scientists at Baidu Research in California to optimize gene sequences in mRNA vaccines, creating jabs with greater potency and stability. The tool borrows techniques from computational linguistics to design mRNA sequences with more intricate shapes and structures than those used in current vaccines, enabling the genetic material to persist for longer than usual. The enhanced structural complexity of the mRNA offers improved protection against vaccine degradation, eliminating the need for cold-chain equipment to handle such jabs. The tool has been used to optimize at least one authorized vaccine, a COVID-19 shot from StemiRNA, called SW-BIC-213, that won approval for emergency use in Laos late last year.
