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Scientists discover new antibiotics using AI

euronews.com

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Re: Scientists discover new antibiotics using AI

#2

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

Tigecycline

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1426172/

is a new class of antibiotics discovered around 2005 that also works against resistant bacteria such as MRSA and VRE.

So while it is great they are coming up with new antibiotics, it is by no means the first in 60 years.

Re: Scientists discover new antibiotics using AI

#3

Post by PlasmonOwl »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #2

Tigecycline https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1426172/ is a new class of antibiotics discovered around 2005 that also works against resistant bacteria such as MRSA and VRE. So while it is great they are coming up with new antibiotics, it is by no means the first in 60 years.

Had the same issue on Reddit recently. Toxibaccin was discovered in soils in 2018. Hell I know someone who developed one recently at a university. It’s AMAZING AI can do this, but it certainly doesn’t destroy prior approaches. Yet.

Disclaimer: spelling and name of antibiotic may be incorrect. It is not my field, and the spelling is phonetic from myself. If pressed, I will ask the scientist for the specific name.

Re: Scientists discover new antibiotics using AI

#4

Post by dvh »

I've been under the impression that we don't have new antibiotics because it is not economically viable.

When you invent new weight loss drug you can sell millions of pills to anyone.

If you invent new antibiotic it is immediately classified as "reserve antibiotic" and the sale is restricted.

Re: Scientists discover new antibiotics using AI

#5

Post by photochemsyn »

The nature article is paywalled so it's impossible to see what they actually did, and the abstract is not very clear either. What benefit did they get from whole-genome sequencing, for example?

Additionally, it can't be called an antibiotic until it goes through the necessary human clinical trials, where all kinds of problems can crop up - they don't seem to provide any evidence that their AI-enabled scan for human cell toxicity actually worked.

Finally, the real problem with antibiotic resistance is that microbes always evolve resistance over time if the antibiotics are overused (i.e prophylactic use in industrial animal agribusiness, and careless prescriptions of antibiotics from doctors).

Re: Scientists discover new antibiotics using AI

#6

Post by ac2u »

dvh wrote: post #4

I've been under the impression that we don't have new antibiotics because it is not economically viable. When you invent new weight loss drug you can sell millions of pills to anyone. If you invent new antibiotic it is immediately classified as "reserve antibiotic" and the sale is restricted.

>it is immediately classified as "reserve antibiotic" and the sale is restricted.

Is that so medical professionals can break it out as a means of last resort to save a patient and ensure the course is finished?

If so that mightn't be a bad idea before we destroy the potential of new antibiotics too by having the general public misuse them render them useless over time.

Re: Scientists discover new antibiotics using AI

#7

Post by maxerickson »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #2

Tigecycline https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1426172/ is a new class of antibiotics discovered around 2005 that also works against resistant bacteria such as MRSA and VRE. So while it is great they are coming up with new antibiotics, it is by no means the first in 60 years.

Seems that is a tetracycline derivative? A class of antibiotics generally refers to the mechanism of action, so I'd think it wouldn't be a new class if it is derived from an existing one.

Re: Scientists discover new antibiotics using AI

#8

Post by maxerickson »

PlasmonOwl wrote: post #3
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #2

Tigecycline https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1426172/ is a new class of antibiotics discovered around 2005 that also works against resistant bacteria such as MRSA and VRE. So while it is great they are coming up with new antibiotics, it is by no means the first in 60 years.

Had the same issue on Reddit recently. Toxibaccin was discovered in soils in 2018. Hell I know someone who developed one recently at a university. It’s AMAZING AI can do this, but it certainly doesn’t destroy prior approaches. Yet. Disclaimer: spelling and name of antibiotic may be incorrect. It is not my field, and the spelling is phonetic from myself. If pressed, I will ask the scientist for the specific name.

I expect you are referencing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teixobactin

Re: Scientists discover new antibiotics using AI

#9

Post by zbrozek »

ac2u wrote: post #6
dvh wrote: post #4

I've been under the impression that we don't have new antibiotics because it is not economically viable. When you invent new weight loss drug you can sell millions of pills to anyone. If you invent new antibiotic it is immediately classified as "reserve antibiotic" and the sale is restricted.

>it is immediately classified as "reserve antibiotic" and the sale is restricted. Is that so medical professionals can break it out as a means of last resort to save a patient and ensure the course is finished? If so that mightn't be a bad idea before we destroy the potential of new antibiotics too by having the general public misuse them render them useless over time.

It's probably a good idea. But doing that alone--without substituting market incentives with something else--means that there won't be new products to use in that way.
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