There is a rapid rise in drug resistance in many pathogens which leaves the need for new antibiotics at an all time high. It may be only a matter of time before a wound or scratch becomes life-threatening because few new antibiotics have entered the market. Rappler brought this topic to us in their article, “How deep learning AI is discovering new antibiotics.”
A revolution in artificial intelligence (AI) has come to the rescue in offering hope. In a recent published study, scientists from MIT and Harvard have used a type of AI called deep learning to discover new antibiotics.
The traditional way of discovering antibiotics – from soil or plant extracts – has not produced any new candidates. Alternative methods have challenges to produce anything substantial. However, deep learning is powering many of today’s facial recognition systems and self-driving cars. They mimic how neurons in our brains operate by learning patterns in data. An individual artificial neuron – like a mini sensor – might detect simple patterns like lines or circles. So given this power, researchers hunting for new drugs are embracing deep learning AI. Unlike people, AI has no preconceived notions, especially about what an antibiotic should look like.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Access Innovations, the world leader in thesaurus, ontology, and taxonomy creation and metadata application.
