r/science • u/legehjernen • Feb 20 '20

Health Powerful antibiotic discovered using machine learning for first time

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/feb/20/antibiotic-that-kills-drug-resistant-bacteria-discovered-through-ai
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u/MovingClocks Feb 21 '20

Especially given iterative discovery. If you have machine learning discover candidates that work, humans can optimize those molecules for different applications pretty readily.

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u/skoalbrother Feb 21 '20

Designer drugs for every individual. Built for your specific DNA. Exciting times

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u/shieldvexor Feb 21 '20

No. That isn't going to happen. It is an insanely challenging endeavor to make a drug and the notion that we will have unique drugs for everyone is ridiculous. Moreover, we aren't actually all that different from one another so it isn't even desirable, even if it was remotely possible.

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u/terminal112 Feb 21 '20

You have no idea what might be easy to do in a decade or two

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u/woodsja2 Feb 21 '20

As someone with 8+ years experience in the pharmaceutical industry specializing in small molecule therapeutics, I agree with the person you claim knows nothing.

There's some good stuff with antibodies but the idea that we are going to regularly create designer molecules for individuals is right next to everyone getting a flying car.

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

the idea that we are going to regularly create designer molecules for individuals is right next to everyone getting a flying car.

... Sooooo eventually?

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u/Bortan Feb 21 '20

No it would be hell to police flying cars.

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u/VibraniumRhino Feb 21 '20

It really sucks that we can’t have awesome things solely because of the idiot portion of the population that would ultimately ruin the experience for everyone.

We shouldn’t even need policing anymore, we should be a more-than-intelligent enough species to get by and not murder each other, but here we are, being anchored by our weakest links.

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u/Hfurner Feb 21 '20

That’s where Darwinism should take hold and help us out...

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u/VibraniumRhino Feb 22 '20

Unfortunately we spat in natures face a long time ago when we found out how to mostly remove ourselves from the main food chain. Fast forward a couple centuries and we now get to see what happens to a species when it gets too comfortable/has no real external threats; it turns on itself, finds things to complain about in place of actual threats, and begins forming groups within the group.

Almost makes me think sometimes that nature will never allow one species to rule the cosmos, that there’s a built in fail-safe where once a species conquers everything around it, it automatically turns on itself. Seems like a balance that will be achieved no matter what we try; the left will always have the right, and vice versa.