AI screening reveals new antibiotics, bringing hope for addressing drug resistance issues
2023-12-25
【 Editor in Chief Circle 】 Scientists from the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University have utilized the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to screen millions of compounds and discover a new class of antibiotics. This type of antibiotic can kill two different types of drug-resistant bacteria, bringing new hope for addressing the global challenge of antibiotic resistance. The relevant paper was published in the new issue of the journal Nature. Scientists have tested the effects of over 39000 compounds on Staphylococcus aureus and three types of human cells from the liver, skeletal muscle, and lungs. These test data are used to train AI models to predict the antibacterial activity of compounds and their potential toxicity to human cells. After training, the AI model conducted computer simulation analysis on 12 million compounds and ultimately discovered 3646 compounds with ideal drug like properties. More importantly, they also identified chemical substructures that can explain the properties of each compound. By delving into the chemical substructures of these compounds, scientists have successfully identified a new potential class of antibiotics and discovered two non-toxic compounds. The experimental results on mice showed that these two newly discovered antibiotics have significant therapeutic effects on both methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin resistant Enterococcus. Data shows that in 2019, over 1.2 million people died due to antibiotic resistance. It is expected that this number will continue to rise in the coming decades. Currently, only a few new antibiotics, such as oxazolidinone and lipopeptides, are effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin resistant Enterococcus. This research achievement demonstrates the enormous potential of AI in the field of drug discovery. Through the guidance of AI, scientists can not only predict the biological effects of compounds, but also gain a deeper understanding of the chemical mechanisms behind them. This method is expected to accelerate the development process of new antibiotics and may also provide new ideas and methods for drug development in other fields. At this moment, we are immersed in a huge wave of technology. One of the driving forces behind this wave is artificial intelligence. Think about it, a few years ago we were amazed that artificial intelligence could mimic human voices. Nowadays, the "digital humans" in online videos that are difficult to distinguish between real and fake are no longer rare; A few years ago, we were amazed that artificial intelligence could write poetry and compose music. Now, the content created by artificial intelligence has developed into a thriving industry. Artificial intelligence is becoming a powerful assistant in various industries such as manufacturing, entertainment, healthcare, and education, promoting the leap in production, work, research and development, and learning efficiency. In this context, everyone deserves to think carefully about how to better establish and survive in the era of artificial intelligence. (Lai Xin She)
Edit:GuoGuo Responsible editor:FangZhiYou
Source:people.cn
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