Using Machine Learning to Battle Antibiotic Resistance

Researchers are using artificial intelligence to identify known and novel resistance genes.

It would help clinicians to be able to mine your superbug’s genome for DNA sequences that indicate susceptibility or resistance to antibiotics. As a step toward that goal, bioinformaticians are tapping artificial intelligence to identify the most relevant sequences. They’re making progress, thanks to databases stuffed with thousands of genomes from different strains of pathogenic bacteria, along with corresponding data on whether those strains were susceptible or resistant to dozens of antibiotics.