AI Used to Discover New Antibiotic

At MIT, researchers for Machine Learning in Health have been busy attempting to find a new powerful antibiotic using artificial intelligence. By using this AI to map the structures of drugs and run tests looking for the potential to kill bacteria, they have found what could be the most powerful antibiotic ever discovered. They have named this drug halicin, after "2001: A Space Odyssey." When tested against strains of bacteria known to be resistant to antibiotics, they found halicin kills all but one strain.

This discovery is particularly revolutionary because in the past couple decades few new antibiotics have been developed or discovered. Most are just variations on the same ones currently in use. But thanks to the AI involved in this research, they now have a drug with a structure different than any other antibiotic on the market currently. This machine used information not only on how we currently kill bacteria, but discovered new ways to do so. For halicin, preliminary research suggests that it disrupts the cell membranes of the bacteria, making it unable to function and likely making it hard for the bacteria to develop a resistance. Along with continuing the research on halicin, the machine learning software has also identified of a few other notable drugs which will also partake in testing.

The discovery made by this AI is revolutionary, but more so the AI itself is a wonder. This machine has evaluated all we know about bacteria and found new, effective ways to get around the familiar patterns the medical field has followed the past few decades. With technology like this applied to more medicinal research, the possibilities are endless. Who knows what other drugs will be found in this fashion. The potential is sky-high, and I for one am excited to see where it leads to next.

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

This organization founded by the creator of Microsoft and his wife is dedicated to eradicating malaria. For years now they have been working to distribute insecticide, bug nets, and other mosquito deterrents to high-risk regions for the disease. The overall goal at this point in the fight is to eradicate the parasites the female mosquitoes carry, which cause the disease. Bill Gates has said this can be done in the next 20 years. This fight is a global issue, and the Gates' have donated over $1.2 billion to this cause. Thanks in part to this foundation, deaths by malaria have been cut in half since 2000.

Gates Foundation Official Website