Researchers at MIT and McMaster University have utilized an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to discover an antibiotic called abaucin, capable of killing a deadly superbug. The bacteria is notorious for causing numerous drug-resistant infections.
The path-breaking discovery published in Nature Chemical Biology has strengthened the premise that AI can significantly accelerate and expand our search for new antibiotics. The antibiotic effectively combating acinetobacter baumannii, a bacteria commonly found within hospital settings, is known to cause severe infections such as pneumonia, meningitis, and other life-threatening conditions.
This would actually pave the way for the discovery of more narrow-spectrum antibiotics (antibiotics that are targeted towards specific pathogens or a group of them).
Using AI, scientists have found a antibiotic that could combat drug-resistant infections!
— Alvaro Cintas (@dr_cintas) May 30, 2023
They used a machine-learning algorithm which identified a compound that kills the notorious Acinetobacter baumannii.
This bacterium is often found in hospitals and can lead to pneumonia,… pic.twitter.com/asL6pXdTow
The same pathogen was known to cause infections in wounded soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.
As AI and ML have been expanding their footprints in medicine and biotechnology, it has become clearer than ever that the positives of the tech used in the field will soon outnumber the negatives.
Some insights.
— Linus (●ᴗ●) (@LinusEkenstam) May 27, 2023
- Technique uses optical coherence tomography to monitor arterial plaque
- Disintegration of the plaque can serve as a prelude to a heart attack
- The new AI method consists of two primary steps pic.twitter.com/yc82gqo3o9
in a new study, researchers combined spinal and brain implants with LLM-based decoders to allow a paralyzed man to walk again pic.twitter.com/HPfXvFshHR
— Siqi Chen (@blader) May 25, 2023
Amidst the various criticisms of AI applications, like the buddle in generative AI, ethical concerns, high costs and job losses; the medical sciences show an optimistic way ahead.