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21 Feb 2020

Artificial intelligence helps to discover powerful new antibiotic

Special Correspondent and Presenter

We’ve all heard of superbugs – nasty bacteria which can’t be wiped out by antibiotics – well a powerful new drug that can kill some of the world’s most dangerous strains of drug resistant bacteria has been discovered using artificial intelligence.

Researchers on the project, based at the Massachusetts of Technology, called it “absolutely a first”.

I spoke to Dr Shah Islam, who’s an AI researcher at Imperial College, London Hospital Trust – I began by asking him just how much of a breakthrough this was.