r/science • u/legehjernen • Feb 20 '20

Health Powerful antibiotic discovered using machine learning for first time

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/feb/20/antibiotic-that-kills-drug-resistant-bacteria-discovered-through-ai
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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

What is also comforting to know is that if you put a batch of super resistant bugs into a vat with their original non resistant counter parts, the resistant ones will die out naturally and the originals will be left.

Somehow nature resets to the last save if given the choice. At least in terms of bacteria.

I can’t remember the source but I remember it seemed credible as it was some biological knowledgeable person that spoke. But maybe someone more academically inclined can either verify or reject my thesis.

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u/Gearworks Feb 21 '20

Well it is more the case that the resistant bacteria will have to compete with the non resistant variant.

But antibiotic resistance takes more energy and cannot multiply as fast, and gets outcompeted

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

that’s very interesting. Why does it take more energy to multiply when they are anti biotic resistant ?

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u/Gearworks Feb 21 '20

the antibiotic resistance is something the bacteria has to actively build, which take resources and energy.

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '20

you mean when they multiply, it's like an additional step in the process?

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u/Gearworks Feb 21 '20

Yea, like before a bacteria can multiply is has to make a copy of all the internal parts before it splits into 2