New DNA-based vaccine shows promise against HIV

Credit: anilakkus

By Olivia Bowthorpe

Researchers have created a new type of DNA-based vaccine that could help in the long quest to develop an effective HIV vaccine.

The study found using DNA rather than protein as the scaffold for the vaccine particle was eight times better in tests in mice at activating the rare immune cells needed to fight the virus compared to the best existing protein vaccines being tested.