TLDR:
- MIT researchers have utilized artificial intelligence (AI) to identify a new class of antibiotics capable of killing drug-resistant bacteria.
- The researchers used machine learning to teach computers to process data in a way that mimics the human brain, allowing them to identify compounds that can kill drug-resistant bacteria.
- The identified compounds show low toxicity when tested with human cells, making them potential candidates for human use.
- The researchers plan to share their findings with Phare Bio, a social venture using AI to address urgent global threats.
Summary:
MIT researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify a new class of antibiotics that could kill a drug-resistant bacterium responsible for over 10,000 deaths in the US each year. The research involved using deep learning, a type of AI that enables computers to process data in a similar way to the human brain. The compounds identified by the research have shown low toxicity when tested on human cells, making them potential candidates for human use. The researchers plan to share their findings with Phare Bio, a social venture that uses AI and deep learning to tackle global threats.