The gigantic discovery that could change medicine forever

A discovery that can help humanity

Faced with the growing threat of resistance to antibiotics, A team from the University of Pennsylvania led by Dr. César de la Fuente used machine learning to analyze a vast set of genomic data.

This unprecedented search covered 87,920 genomes of specific microorganisms63,410 metagenomes of environmental samples and diverse habitats around the planet. The result was the identification of 863,498 antimicrobial peptides candidates, more than 90% of whom were completely unknown until now.

To validate your findings, The researchers synthesized 100 of these peptides and tested them against 11 disease-causing bacterial strains, including strains resistant to antibiotics of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The results were surprising:

• 63 of the 100 candidates completely eliminated the growth of at least one of the pathogens tested
• Many were effective against multiple strains
• Some compounds were effective at very low doses
• Tests in animal models showed that some compounds successfully stopped infections

What the discovery means

This discovery provided multiple new leads for the development of antibiotics, and also validated the approach of exploring the world’s biological data using AI. The compounds identified came from a wide variety of habitats, from human saliva to coral reefs, soil and plants.

Dr. de la Fuente summarized the impact of this advancement: “AI in the discovery of antibiotics is now a reality and significantly accelerated our ability to discover new drug candidates. “What once took years can now be accomplished in hours using computers.”

►YOU MAY BE INTERESTED: The discovery in a “computer” from 2,200 years ago that surprised astronomers

This gigantic discovery It may be the beginning of a new era in the fight against infectious diseases. With AI as an ally, the discovery of new antibiotics can be significantly accelerated.