Daijiworld Media Network – Boston

Boston, Aug 18: In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed two potential antibiotics using artificial intelligence (AI) that can kill drug-resistant gonorrhoea and MRSA.

The researchers used generative AI algorithms to scan thousands of molecules and predict which ones could work as antibiotics. Importantly, AI also helped avoid compounds harmful to humans or too similar to existing drugs. Both newly identified antibiotics were successful in killing strains of bacteria resistant to current treatments.

"We're excited because we show that generative AI can be used to design completely new antibiotics," said Professor James Collins of MIT. "This can expand our arsenal and give us a leg up in the battle against superbugs."

Overuse of antibiotics has allowed bacteria to evolve resistance, creating a global health crisis responsible for more than one million deaths annually. Scientists now believe AI could usher in a "second golden age" of antibiotic discovery.

The breakthrough comes as part of a series of medical advances using AI. Recently, teams from the US, UK, and Switzerland developed an AI-based test to predict which men with prostate cancer would benefit most from specific drug treatments, tailoring therapy to patients and reducing overtreatment.

Experts say these developments highlight AI’s growing role in revolutionising medicine and tackling some of the most urgent global health challenges.