Finding New Antibiotics from Ancient Genomes with AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being harnessed to reimagine antibiotic discovery, by turning to the human proteome, ancient genomes, and even extinct organisms. César de la Fuente, PhD, a Presidential Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Microbiology, Bioengineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Chemistry, the pioneer behind the idea of “molecular de-extinction” which mines the DNA of Neanderthals for potential antibiotic compounds, shared how his team approaches the work.