New Drug Discovery Aided by AI

Scientists at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have used machine-learning algorithm (artificial intelligence, AI) to identify and successfully test a powerful new antibiotic, halicin which showed strong antibacterial activity against E. coli, a very common bacteria which sometimes develops resistance to existing antibiotics. The algorithm could be set to search existing molecules with low toxicity to human cells and not currently applied in treating the disease of interest. Within days, millions of compound libraries could be searched.

As someone who spent years and thousands of dollars in scientific experiments testing for small molecules that can stabilize or treat a defective protein responsible for cystic fibrosis, this is a promising discovery especially during sudden outbreaks of epidemics like the current covid-19 viruses. Lets hope this algorithm is already in use in search for a cure or treatment for this deadly disease before is becomes a pandemic.