Powerful antibiotic discovered using machine learning for first time

[sl8]

From https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/feb/20/antibiotic-that-kills-drug-resistant-bacteria-discovered-through-ai

Powerful antibiotic discovered using machine learning for first time

Team at MIT says halicin kills some of the world’s most dangerous strains

Ian Sample
Science editor
Thu 20 Feb 2020 11.28 EST | First published on Thu 20 Feb 2020 11.13 EST

A powerful antibiotic that kills some of the most dangerous drug-resistant bacteria in the world has been discovered using artificial intelligence.

The drug works in a different way to existing antibacterials and is the first of its kind to be found by setting AI loose on vast digital libraries of pharmaceutical compounds.

Tests showed that the drug wiped out a range of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, including Acinetobacter baumannii and Enterobacteriaceae, two of the three high-priority pathogens that the World Health Organization ranks as “critical” for new antibiotics to target.

“In terms of antibiotic discovery, this is absolutely a first,” said Regina Barzilay, a senior researcher on the project and specialist in machine learning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

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[Moostache]

1. And if people continue to abuse antibiotics like they have, it will be useless by 2030...

People have GOT to stop taking antibiotics for viral infections, it only accelerates the process of resistance emerging...

[tanyev]

2. That abuse doesn't happen unless a doctor gives them a prescription.

Doctors who should definitely know better.

[Moostache]

4. Doctors in a for-profit system, who cave to the demands of their patients...they should be banned.

Anyone who knowingly distributes antibiotics to treat symptoms or to simply placate ill-informed patients should be banned from the practice of medicine...but at its core, this is just one more reason for nationalized health care - removal of the profit motive to prevent doctor-shopping until someone gives you want you want...

Happened with opioids and happens still with antibiotics. The almighty dollar rules all.

[MurrayDelph]

6. Farmers routinely gave antibiotics

to otherwise healthy animals, to fatten them up quickly and cheaply, as well as in the belief they were preventing illness in their stock.

[LonePirate]

3. This is good news. I can only hope MIT patents the genome and makes it available for free.

[Wounded Bear]

5. K & R...thanks for the link...nt

[crickets]

7. Wow, the possibilities. K&R