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Scientists Discover New Antibiotic with the Help of AI
A team of researchers from Canada and the US has discovered a new antibiotic called abaucin that can kill a deadly species of superbug with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI). The team used AI to narrow down thousands of potential chemicals to a handful that could be tested in the laboratory. Drug-resistant bacteria have become a global health crisis, with a lack of new antibiotics available for treatment, making AI-aided discovery of new drugs a revolutionary development.
Stopping the Superbugs
Antibiotics are used to kill bacteria, but the lack of new drugs is becoming a major problem, as bacteria are evolving and becoming more resistant to treatment. One of the most problematic bacteria is Acinetobacter baumannii, which can cause pneumonia and infections in wounds. Often referred to as public enemy number one, it has become common to find cases where A. baumannii is resistant to almost every antibiotic.
Artificial Intelligence Discovery
To find a new antibiotic, the researchers first had to train the AI. They used thousands of drugs with known precise chemical structures and manually tested them on Acinetobacter baumannii to see which could slow it down or kill it. The AI learned the chemical features of drugs that could attack the problematic bacterium from this data. The AI was then fed a list of 6,680 compounds whose effectiveness was unknown, and after an hour and a half, it produced a shortlist. Laboratory experiments on 240 compounds showed nine potential antibiotics, one of which was abaucin.
Clinical Trials and the Future
While laboratory experiments showed potential for abaucin in treating infected wounds in mice, it is yet to be perfected in the laboratory and undergo clinical trials before it can be prescribed. Researchers expect that the first AI antibiotics could take until 2030 to be available. Abaucin works specifically on A. baumannii and not on other species of bacteria. Its precision is believed to make it harder for drug-resistance to emerge, potentially reducing side-effects.
Sections and Subheadings
– Introduction
– Stopping the Superbugs
– About Antibiotics
– The Problem with Drug Resistance
– The Critical Threat of Acinetobacter baumannii
– Artificial Intelligence Discovery
– Training the AI
– The Search for Antibiotics
– The Results
– Clinical Trials and the Future
– What’s Next for Abaucin?
– Timeline for Availability
– Conclusion
FAQ
Q: What is abaucin?
A: Abaucin is a new antibiotic discovered with the help of artificial intelligence that can kill a deadly species of superbug called Acinetobacter baumannii.
Q: How did the researchers use AI to discover abaucin?
A: The researchers first had to train the AI by using thousands of drugs with known precise chemical structures and manually tested them on Acinetobacter baumannii. The AI learned the chemical features of drugs that could attack the problematic bacterium from this data. The AI was then fed a list of 6,680 compounds whose effectiveness was unknown, and after an hour and a half, it produced a shortlist. Laboratory experiments on 240 compounds showed nine potential antibiotics, one of which was abaucin.
Q: How could AI-aided antibiotic discovery revolutionize medicine?
A: In principle, the AI could screen tens of millions of potential compounds, something that would be impractical to do manually. The researchers plan to expand their study to Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa next. AI-enhanced discovery of new drugs, including antibiotics, could have a significant impact on public health by meeting the demand for the treatment of drug-resistant bacteria.
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