Scientists Have Invented A Vaccine That Could Cure Acne

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Your skin woes may be over thanks to a new pioneering treatment for acne.

It’s one of the most common skin conditions, with 80 per cent of people aged 11 to 30 affected, and yet scientists have never been able to pin-point the causes of acne.

But now, scientists at the University of California San Diego have trialled a new vaccine formula that works to stop acne-inducing bacteria secreting on the skin.

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The formula, however, still in its infancy was not simple to construct.

Eric C. Huange, the project’s lead researcher, told Allure:

Acne is caused, in part, by P. acnes bacteria that are with you your whole life and we couldn’t create a vaccine for the bacteria because, in some ways, P. acnes are good for you.

But we found an antibody to a toxic protein that P. acnes bacteria secrete on skin – the protein is associated with the inflammation that leads to acne.

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In terms that you and I can understand, Huange and his team have basically come up with a way to block the acne-causing effects of the bacteria without completely eradicating it… So we get the good, without the bad or the ugly.

While you might think dermatological research of this nature should take second string to, say, curing cancer, actually acne is a real problem for so many people.

Not only can acne be painful and leave permanent scarring, The British Skin Foundation reports that nearly 20 per cent of sufferers have considered suicide because of the way their skin looks.

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Thankfully, this new vaccine promises to eradicate acne and all of its – very real – emotional side effects.

The vaccine has undergone initial trials and the scientists hope to carry out tests on people in clinical trials over the next few years.

Francesca Donovan

A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.