Scientists from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane have made a significant breakthrough in the field of antibiotic medicine with the help of artificial intelligence.
Through utilizing a machine learning program to analyze extensive collections of genetic material found throughout nature, they discovered more than 850,000 molecules that could potentially kill harmful bacteria.
“There is an urgent need for new methods for antibiotic discovery,” study lead Luis Pedro Coelho said in an interview this week. He works at the university’s Centre for Microbiome Research.
“It is one of the top public health threats, killing 1.27 million people each year.”
Without needed intervention, bacteria that develop resistance to antibiotics could potentially kill up to 10 million people per year in the coming decades, sources say.
The researchers have now created a publicly accessible database showcasing their discoveries called AMPSphere. The acronym refers to antimicrobial peptides.
A biologist from the University of Basel Switzerland says these studies prove that humanity can be optimistic about overcoming antimicrobial resistance. “This is just one example of ongoing research showing our scientific capabilities to fight superbugs are huge,” Sebastian Hiller told Deutsche Welle (DW).
AMPSphere published in @CellCellPress. A thread on the main results
We obtain nearly 1 million novel antimicrobial peptides from the global microbiome!
In vitro testing showed that at least 79/100 are true positives pic.twitter.com/DrfATKcY5R
— Luis Pedro Coelho (@ISMB 12-18 Jul;@SF 19-23 Jul) (@luispedrocoelho) June 6, 2024
Read more: Verses announces Genius public beta preview and webinar June 20
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AI continues to enhance our understanding of nature
In addition to innovative research on artificial intelligence taking place at universities throughout the globe, certain companies have been designing programs that learn from biological processes rather than conventional datasets and provide insights accordingly.
Verses AI (CBOE: VERS) (OTCQB: VRSSF), for example, has developed a highly intelligent program called Genius which does just that. It will become available to the public this winter.
Meanwhile, Google DeepMind has created GNoME: an AI tool that has been identifying new materials present in nature. The renowned company says it has discovered over two million new crystals, including 380,000 which are more stable than the others.
“Among these candidates are materials that have the potential to develop future transformative technologies ranging from superconductors and supercomputers to next-generation batteries that will boost the efficiency of electric vehicles,” Google DeepMind’s Amil Merchant and Ekin Dogus Cubuk said in a November article.
AI is also being used for monitoring endangered animals, identifying new species, improving natural disaster responses, agricultural purposes like crop surveillance and various other applications.
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rowan@mugglehead.com
