A powerful class of medications known as antibiotics combats bacterial infections. Penicillin, the first real antibiotic, was unintentionally discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. Up till 1987, numerous types of antibiotics that could save lives were identified after that. But there is a drawback to this potent medication as well. Antibiotics can lessen their effectiveness against certain bacteria over time if they are able to overcome their resistance. To combat this scenario, scientists have been working to identify new families of antibiotics. Recently, MIT researchers claimed that they have used AI to find a new class of antibiotics.
With the use of a Graph Neural Network that examined more than 12 million chemical molecules, a group of 21 MIT researchers employed artificial intelligence to pinpoint an antibiotic class. They were able to identify a whole new class of antibiotics thanks to its identification of substructures exhibiting antibiotic characteristics. This class of antibiotics would work well against gram-positive bacteria, such as vancomycin-resistant enterococci and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA is extremely harmful and can result in serious, sometimes fatal illnesses as well as minor skin infections. Harvard estimates that 11,000 fatalities and 80,000 illnesses occur annually in the US alone.
AI revitalizes the field of medical research
The research’s application of AI makes room for more advancements and discoveries. These medicines have shown promise in mouse models even at early stages. Scientists anticipate that medicinal usage of these antibiotics will not be far off. James Collins, the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science in the Department of Biological Engineering and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science at MIT, said, “we could see what was being learned by the models to make their predictions that certain molecules would make good antibiotics.”
The last time a new antibiotic class was identified was in 1987, and this discovery puts an end to the antibiotic dry spell. It could also usher in the “Golden Age of Antibiotics.” Additionally, it demonstrates AI’s potential in the realms of science and medicine. A major advancement in medical science, the new class of antibiotics demonstrates the applications of artificial intelligence and other technology to medicine.
