Scientists are using a new form of generative artificial intelligence to design specialised viruses that can hunt and kill harmful bacteria. This breakthrough could lead to a new generation of antibiotics designed to defeat drug-resistant "superbugs".
Using the AI model Evo 2, which can create new DNA, scientists at Stanford University created a series of viruses known as bacteriophages – microorganisms able to kill bacteria.
In lab tests, a mixture of 16 “exceptionally good” viruses designed by Evo 2 was able to rapidly kill E. coli bacteria that were already immune to natural phages.
E.coli is a group of bacteria that can cause gut infections and is increasingly resistant to available antibiotics.
Antibiotic resistance is rising worldwide, driven mainly by the mis- and overuse of these kinds of antibiotics, which cause bacteria to develop ways to survive them, making current medicines useless.
