Scientists Discover New Antibiotics Using AI To Kill Drug-Resistant Bacterium
It would not be wrong to say that artificial intelligence (AI) is a true game-changer when it comes to medicine. The technology has been helping scientists in the medical field a lot. Recently, scientists discovered the first new antibiotics in 60 years using AI. It can prove to be a turning point in the fight against antibiotic resistance. The newly discovered compound can kill a drug-resistant bacterium that kills thousands worldwide every year. The news about the newly discovered compound was published in Nature. Moreover, it was co-authored by a team of 21 researchers. James Collins, professor of Medical Engineering and Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and one of the study’s authors stated:
“The insight here was that we could see what was being learned by the models to make their predictions that certain molecules would make for good antibiotics. Our work provides a framework that is time-efficient, resource-efficient, and mechanistically insightful, from a chemical-structure standpoint, in ways that we haven’t had to date”.
Scientists Discovered New Antibiotics In Over 60 Years Using AI
Reports claim that the research team behind the project used a deep-learning model to foreshadow the activity and toxicity of the new compound. For all those unaware, Deep learning involves the use of artificial neural networks to automatically learn and illustrate features from data without detailed programming. Deep learning has been used in drug discovery for a long time now. It helps to accelerate the identification of potential drug candidates, predicts their properties, and optimizes the drug development process.
In this particular case, scientists focused on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA Infections can vary from mild skin infections to more severe and potentially life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia and bloodstream infections. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC):
“Almost 150,000 MRSA infections occur every year in the European Union while almost 35,000 people die annually in the bloc from antimicrobial-resistant infections”
Reports claim that an MIT team of researchers prepared a considerably enlarged deep learning model using expanded datasets. Almost 39,000 compounds were assessed for their antibiotic activity against MRSA to assemble the training data. Henceforth, both the resulting data and details regarding the chemical structures of the compounds were input into the model. Three additional deep-learning models were also employed by the researchers to assess the toxicity of compounds on three distinct types of human cells. It was found that the compounds were capable of effectively combating microbes with minimal harm to the human body.
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