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speak easy

(12,487 posts)
Sun May 28, 2023, 11:36 AM May 2023

Scientists use AI to discover a new antibiotic

Scientists use AI to discover new antibiotic to treat deadly superbug

Scientists using artificial intelligence have discovered a new antibiotic that can kill a deadly superbug.

According to a new study published on Thursday in the science journal Nature Chemical Biology, a group of scientists from McMaster University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered a new antibiotic that can be used to kill a deadly hospital superbug.

The superbug in question is Acinetobacter baumannii, which the World Health Organization has classified as a “critical” threat among its “priority pathogens” – a group of bacteria families that pose the “greatest threat” to human health.

Thursday’s study revealed that researchers used an AI algorithm to screen thousands of antibacterial molecules in an attempt to predict new structural classes. As a result of the AI screening, researchers were able to identify a new antibacterial compound which they named abaucin.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/25/artificial-intelligence-antibiotic-deadly-superbug-hospital

A the discovery of a new antibiotic effective against a Gram-negative bacteria is a real breakthrough. Antibiotic development has stalled. It has been 36 years since the last new class of antibiotics, the lipopeptides, were discovered in 1987.

Deep learning-guided discovery of an antibiotic targeting Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii is a nosocomial Gram-negative pathogen that often displays multidrug resistance. Discovering new antibiotics against A. baumannii has proven challenging through conventional screening approaches. Fortunately, machine learning methods allow for the rapid exploration of chemical space, increasing the probability of discovering new antibacterial molecules. Here we screened ~7,500 molecules for those that inhibited the growth of A. baumannii in vitro. We trained a neural network with this growth inhibition dataset and performed in silico predictions for structurally new molecules with activity against A. baumannii. Through this approach, we discovered abaucin, an antibacterial compound with narrow-spectrum activity against A. baumannii. Further investigations revealed that abaucin perturbs lipoprotein trafficking through a mechanism involving LolE. Moreover, abaucin could control an A. baumannii infection in a mouse wound model. This work highlights the utility of machine learning in antibiotic discovery and describes a promising lead with targeted activity against a challenging Gram-negative pathogen.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41589-023-01349-8.epdf
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Scientists use AI to discover a new antibiotic (Original Post) speak easy May 2023 OP
OK, now find a cure for the common cold & flu KS Toronado May 2023 #1
Actually, both of these are under development. I believe mRNA technology is behind a lot erronis May 2023 #2
AI is working on it. Midnight Writer May 2023 #3
When the scientific community uses AI it will be a enormous benefit KS Toronado May 2023 #6
This can't be true BannonsLiver May 2023 #4
Need a baldness cure and the inverse for a facial hair removal cream. LiberalArkie May 2023 #5
That's terrific! Now run it to find a way to block crooks from using AI. chowder66 May 2023 #7

erronis

(21,675 posts)
2. Actually, both of these are under development. I believe mRNA technology is behind a lot
Sun May 28, 2023, 02:14 PM
May 2023

of the new advances. The mRNA that all the magats/vaccine-deniers hate.

Apparently many cancers including the usually deadly pancreatic cancer is now being treated in the lab with patient-specific mRNA developed for their particular genome and type of cancer.

AI (or expert systems or neural networks or whatever) is definitely helping science learn much more about what's going on in biology, everything. It's an exciting time.

Midnight Writer

(24,878 posts)
3. AI is working on it.
Sun May 28, 2023, 02:18 PM
May 2023

I recently read an article about using AI to read x-rays and CT scans. The AI often finds things the humans missed, and is more accurate overall.

If used wisely, AI could be an enormous benefit to the world. It's the "if used wisely" part that scares me.

KS Toronado

(21,610 posts)
6. When the scientific community uses AI it will be a enormous benefit
Sun May 28, 2023, 02:45 PM
May 2023

It's when modern day Fascists use it to achieve their goals that's scary.

BannonsLiver

(19,793 posts)
4. This can't be true
Sun May 28, 2023, 02:19 PM
May 2023

The poster who does daily OPs on AI and others here have said AI can only be used for evil purposes and will destroy the world. Is that not the case? 🤷‍♂️🙄

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