Artificial intelligence ( AI ) has proved to be a utile ally in the battle againstantibiotic impedance . A muscular antibiotic that ’s even able-bodied to kill superbugs has been discovered   thanks to a machine - learning algorithm .

research worker from MIT used a fresh figurer algorithm to sift through a Brobdingnagian digital archive of over 100 million chemical compound and   spot those that were able to kill bacterium using different mechanisms from existing drugs .

cover in the journalCell , this method highlighted a atom that appear to have some truly noteworthy antibiotic properties . The squad named the molecule halicin , a hat tip to the sentient AI arrangement “ Hal ” from Stanley Kubrick ’s film2001 : A Space Odyssey .

When tested in mice , halicin was able to effectively treat tuberculosis and drug - resistantEnterobacteriaceae , the family line of bacterium that includesE. coliandSalmonella . It also proved highly in force againstClostridium difficile , a " abdomen germ " that often sweeps through hospital , and another drug - resistive bacteria that can stimulate infections of the stemma , urinary parcel of land , and lungs .

“ Our approach shot break this amazing molecule which is arguably one of the more powerful antibiotics that has been discovered , ” James Collins , the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science in MIT ’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science ( IMES ) and Department of Biological Engineering , said in astatement .

Strangest of all , this potent antibiotic is structurally not like any other antibiotic date before . If it were up to just human , it ’s very in all likelihood this antibiotic drug would not have been discovered at all because it look so strange .

“ This groundbreaking ceremony work signifies a paradigm shift in antibiotic discovery and indeed in drug discovery more generally , ” supply Roy Kishony , a prof of biology and computer skill at Technion ( the Israel Institute of Technology ) , who was not involved in the study .

All of these campaigner could change by reversal out to be invaluable dick for tackling superbugs and antibiotic - resistant contagion . Due to the overuse of antibiotic drug , some potentially dangerous bacteria have evolved drug resistance , fix them super guileful to handle . The Centers for Disease Control and Preventioncurrently estimate that at least 2.8 million people get an antibiotic - resistant infection each yr in the US and more than 35,000 the great unwashed die from one . This is a trend that ’s not going to discontinue any time soon as more and   more bacteria gain electrical resistance to conventional drugs .

Thankfully , as this study evince ,   AI   could help researchers flourish our current arsenal of antibiotics and keepthis job at bay .