Noteworthy
While many of our interactions with microbes are essential for our health, microbes are also well-known causes of diseases, such as the bubonic plague, that have decimated populations. We are, therefore, fortunate to count on antimicrobial drugs to eliminate harmful pathogens. However, the production, use, and spread of these drugs around the globe have inevitably increased antibiotic resistance, resulting in a global crisis that threatens our ability to control bacterial infections.
Novel approaches to the discovery of antimicrobials are therefore essential. In one recent study, the authors used machine learning to identify antimicrobial peptides - an ancient class of host defense molecules – encoded in DNA from extinct relatives of humans, the Neanderthals and Denisovans. Once identified, the researchers synthesized these molecules and tested them against bacteria in the lab, finding six with promising activity against mice infected with a common hospital pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii.
This innovative computer-aided approach guided the search for potential antimicrobials by leveraging artificial intelligence to identify desired properties in natural proteins. The result was the discovery of encrypted antimicrobial peptides active against pathogens.
("Noteworthy" is the new format for STC's Thursday posts. Please read our Jan 20, 2025 post outlining this and other changes in our blog.)
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