How AI Helped Find an Antibiotic for a Superbug [UPSC Current Affairs]

In a major breakthrough for the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the area of health, scientists from the United States and Canada used AI to discover a new antibiotic that is potent enough to kill a superbug. Artificial intelligence was used to shorten the time-consuming and difficult process of identifying the optimum antibiotic chemicals against bacteria.

How AI Helped Find an Antibiotic for a Superbug

Deep learning-guided discovery of an antibiotic targeting Acinetobacter baumannii was made by McMaster University in Canada and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.

• Finding the best antibacterial compounds for bacteria may be a time-consuming and complex procedure. 
• Algorithms come into play here since the concept of AI relies on computers being fed enormous volumes of data and teaching themselves to detect patterns and solutions based on them.

These experiments revealed nine antibiotics, one of which was extremely powerful and efficient against A. baumannii. This is known as abaucin.

Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative nosocomial bacterium that frequently exhibits multidrug resistance. 

• According to the University of McMaster, “A. baumannii is notoriously difficult to eradicate because it can cause pneumonia, meningitis, and infect wounds, all of which can lead to death.” 
• The World Health Organisation (WHO) named the bacterium one of the world’s most dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 2017.

What are Superbugs?

• A superbug is a germ that has developed resistance to various medications that were originally used to treat the diseases caused by the germs.  
• Superbugs are often bacteria that have developed drug resistance. They can also be fungi.
• The current surge in superbugs is partially due to antibiotic abuse, which adds to antibiotic resistance.
• There is no way to completely prevent antibiotic resistance because it is an inherent characteristic of germ evolution.

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