Here’s some redditor’s summary of the original research paper that this article is referencing.

It kind of is. Read the original research paper and not some click bait headline: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aec2657

The researchers used genomic language models (LLM equivalents applied to genomes) to map out new cell structures and protein targets for a bacteria-phage (virus that targets bacteria) that could infect and kill e-coli.

With or without AI this is possible to do. AI just speeds up the process and makes it easier. Phages have a lot of down sides over antibiotics, but have one major upside in that they don’t spread antibiotics around and make resistant bacterial strains. If we could make custom or semi-custom phages for phage therapy we could legitimately use as an immune booster if nothing else. Weaken the bacteria so the immune system can actually fight it off. Or amplify the effects of antibiotics that might be weakened my a resistant or semi-resistant strain.

It might even make viral therapy against cancer cells more viable. A major problem with that currently is virus that can infect cancer tend to infect other normal cells too. But a highly targeted virus could, in theory, select for a specific cell line created by cancer.

This is what we need now, in the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria. This is good research.

I wouldn’t trust new outlets to do science journalism at all especially when they have a reputation of blowing them out of proportion for clicks.

Here’s an articleby TeleSUR that goes into a bit more detail about this development and it’s potiental implications.

I wake up from my sleep and already the ceasefire has been broken off, so much for all that dooming for something that didn’t even last 6 hours.

Local.

Mods have responded.

https://chapo.chat/post/4468531?scrollToComments=false

wtf?