Ancient antibiotic clues

César de la Fuente of the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and School of Arts & Sciences led a team of researchers harnessing artificial intelligence to uncover hidden compounds in Archaea, some of Earth’s most ancient microbes. These newly identified molecules could pave the way for next-generation antibiotics. “Most antibiotic discovery has focused on fungi, bacteria, and animals but there’s an entire domain of life we’ve barely tapped,” de la Fuente says.