A Recipe for Universal Vaccines
May 13, 2021•
Physics 14, 72
Researchers use nonequilibrium statistical physics methods to guide the design of vaccines that are effective against many strains of a virus, a holy grail of immunology.
terovesalainen/stock.adobe.com Vaccines might be optimized by choosing a sequence of different antigens for the initial and booster shots.
terovesalainen/stock.adobe.com Vaccines might be optimized by choosing a sequence of different antigens for the initial and booster shots.×
Just over a year ago, physicists around the world shifted their research efforts to the field of infectious diseases to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. In the US, soft-matter physicists trialed a technique for detecting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; in Switzerland, high-energy physicists tested an inexpensive ventilator technology that could help sufferers breathe; and in the UK, condensed-matter physicists donated their personal and protective e