An AI research partner just hunted down a possible new antibiotic hiding in plain sight

New antibiotics are desperately hard to find, so Google DeepMind's biologists tried a new kind of research partner: an AI agent that works alongside the scientist. In a walkthrough published today, the agent sifted millions of protein entries and homed in on a previously unnamed bacteriocin — a natural bacteria-fighting peptide, just 97 building blocks long — with predicted activity against germs behind respiratory infections. Checks of its predicted 3D shape and neighbouring genes backed the hunch, and the candidate is now heading for real lab testing, alongside several others found the same way. The same project has also attached likely job descriptions to millions of protein entries that previously had none, opening a vast catalogue for other researchers to mine.

SDG 9 · Industry, innovation and infrastructure — Mechanism: tech innovation