Scientists use AI to discover new antibiotic

[Shreyas1]

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51586010
 

Scientists have used an artificial intelligence to help discover a brand new antibiotic, and a pretty powerful one too

 

Quote

A powerful algorithm was used to analyse more than one hundred million chemical compounds in a matter of days. 

The newly discovered compound was able to kill 35 types of potentially deadly bacteria, said researchers.

Quote

n terms of antibiotic discovery, this is absolutely a first," said Regina Barzilay, a senior researcher on the project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The discovery was made using an algorithm inspired by the architecture of the human brain. 

Scientists trained it to analyse the structure of 2,500 drugs and other compounds to find those with the most anti-bacterial qualities that could kill E. coli. 

They then selected around 100 candidates for physical testing before discovering halicin. 

"I think this is one of the more powerful antibiotics that has been discovered to date," said James Collins, a bioengineer on the team at MIT. 

"We wanted to develop a platform that would allow us to harness the power of artificial intelligence to usher in a new age of antibiotic drug discovery."

Dr Peter Bannister, chairman of the Institution of Engineering and Technology healthcare panel, said the method used was already "well established" within medical research

Seeing the high costs of medicine these days, hopefully this will bring costs down for many as developing these drugs will hopefully  now be far cheaper and easier. 

[Fnige]

thats what we call

The FUTURE!

[Unixsystem]

Using the near infinite calculating power of parallel computing to defeat the near infinite reproductive and mutation potential of harmful bacteria. Cool. 

[Taf the Ghost]

Eh, this doesn't seem either that impressive or the likely to lead anywhere. They smacked basically the entire known chemical database set against their Algo and they didn't come up with much. Now they might be able to make a derivative compound that could eventually make it through human trials, which is probably where AI approaches will yield more utility. 

 

Specifically to antibiotics, you're talking clinical testing costs well into the greater than 1 billion USD range, and then you won't be able to sell it. It's not that there isn't other, potent antibiotics available. It's that they're not used generally to avoid resistance. That's why the government medical agencies end up restricting them.

[RichPiano]

1 hour ago, Taf the Ghost said:

Eh, this doesn't seem either that impressive or the likely to lead anywhere. They smacked basically the entire known chemical database set against their Algo and they didn't come up with much. Now they might be able to make a derivative compound that could eventually make it through human trials, which is probably where AI approaches will yield more utility. 

 

Specifically to antibiotics, you're talking clinical testing costs well into the greater than 1 billion USD range, and then you won't be able to sell it. It's not that there isn't other, potent antibiotics available. It's that they're not used generally to avoid resistance. That's why the government medical agencies end up restricting them.

It's a start, they will eventually parse down the code

[greenmax]

3 minutes ago, RichPiano said:

eventually

Eventually everything will be 1000 times better then it is now, advent of leeps and bounds in technology jumps.

[ARikozuM]

2 hours ago, Shreyas1 said:

Seeing the high costs of medicine these days, hopefully this will bring costs down for many as developing these drugs will hopefully  now be far cheaper and easier. 

... ... ...

 

[RejZoR]

Quote

A powerful algorithm was used to analyse more than one hundred million chemical compounds in a matter of days. 

So, an algorithm, not an Ai. Every algorithm doesn't make it an Ai. Every Ai is made up of algorithms. Most of stuff everyone is raving about as being "Ai" are just algorithms that basically brute force their way through samples.

[pas008]

5 hours ago, VegetableStu said:

> MOST POWERFUL ANTIBIOTIC DEVELOPED

> butthat people who abuse antibiotic dosages cause onset of superbacteria resistant to almost everything

 

yaaaaay

scary shit isnt it?

[RejZoR]

5 hours ago, VegetableStu said:

> MOST POWERFUL ANTIBIOTIC DEVELOPED

> butthat people who abuse antibiotic dosages cause onset of superbacteria resistant to almost everything

 

yaaaaay

Abuse? You mean, don't use. Most problematic with antibiotics is that people start feeling better and stop taking them. Where you always have to take all of the prescribed antibiotics to the very last pill.

[pas008]

2 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

oh oof ,_, i was thinking of those who keep asking for antibiotics at end of the consultation counter when the doctors didn't specifically prescribe them. consider me schooled then

you are right

 

super bacteria is more dangerous

[Doobeedoo]

So far neat though. 

[RejZoR]

27 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

oh oof ,_, i was thinking of those who keep asking for more antibiotics at end of the consultation counter when the doctors didn't specifically prescribe them. consider me schooled then

It's mostly people who don't finish prescribed antibiotics and people who take them when unnecessary. For example, there is no point in taking antibiotics for viral infections (like flu) because they won't do a thing. Antibiotics only work for bacterial infections (like infected wound).

[matrix07012]

Let's hope it works in humans

[slippers_]

13 hours ago, huilun02 said:

Big pharma says otherwise.

Was about to say. Not really that medicine is extremely expensive, just that (in the US) they can get away with charging out the wazoo for things like Insulin (which, per vial, is something stupid like $5 to make but will be sold for hundreds).

[Sauron]

It kind of hurts to read that article, it's painfully obvious the writer has no idea what they're talking about.

3 hours ago, RejZoR said:

So, an algorithm, not an Ai.

I thought that as well but then they mentioned "training", which might indicate machine learning was used - the writer probably doesn't know what distinguishes "AI" from a "regular" algorithm so they probably used them interchangeably.

6 hours ago, VegetableStu said:

> butthat people who abuse antibiotic dosages cause onset of superbacteria resistant to almost everything

I think the article's referring to over prescription of antibiotics, not overuse by the patients.

13 hours ago, huilun02 said:

Big pharma says otherwise.

*ahem*

Spoiler

ABOLISH PHARMACEUTICAL PATENTS

 

[Bombastinator]

I smell the standard science telephone game problem.  science writer writing from abstract writes article which another science writer uses rather than original information which is picked up by another writer who writes  something etc...  

[Rolling2405]

Can it be used to treat the coronavirus?

[Bombastinator]

6 minutes ago, Thomas001 said:

Can it be used to treat the coronavirus?

Virus != bacteria.

[FunkmastaFlex]

Big Pharma right now.

[Engineer.AI]

On 2/25/2020 at 7:26 AM, Shreyas1 said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51586010
 

Scientists have used an artificial intelligence to help discover a brand new antibiotic, and a pretty powerful one too

 

Seeing the high costs of medicine these days, hopefully this will bring costs down for many as developing these drugs will hopefully  now be far cheaper and easier. 

Ive heard this one. They have engineered AI to develop antibiotics, and possibly this will possibly change the way we view artificial intelligence's role in modern immunology. I just hope they find a way to combat covid-19 through AI also.

~Engineer.AI

[Shreyas1]

On 2/25/2020 at 8:00 AM, Sauron said:

It kind of hurts to read that article, it's painfully obvious the writer has no idea what they're talking about.

I thought that as well but then they mentioned "training", which might indicate machine learning was used - the writer probably doesn't know what distinguishes "AI" from a "regular" algorithm so they probably used them interchangeably.

I think the article's referring to over prescription of antibiotics, not overuse by the patients.

*ahem*

  Hide contents

ABOLISH PHARMACEUTICAL PATENTS

They also said something about the algorithm being similar to the human brain, so I was assuming something to do with neural networks?

[Sauron]

12 hours ago, Shreyas1 said:

They also said something about the algorithm being similar to the human brain, so I was assuming something to do with neural networks?

Yeah, but "similar to the human brain" isn't the term anyone who knows what they're talking about would use. If it's a convolutional neural network then it has pretty much nothing to do with your brain.

[billcxsby]

On 2/24/2020 at 8:02 PM, ARikozuM said:

... ... ...

 

Merica, fuck ye-- dies because of debt somehow

[Engineer.AI]

While it might not seem like a big deal now, the fact that they were able to engineer AI to be able to develop an antibiotic (an extremely potent one at that), within a fraction of a time that a team of well trained humans would've, makes this a really huge landmark. 

 

Now all we have to do, is use this AI to create a cure for the coronavirus.

~Engineer.AI