Artificial Intelligence used to design brand new viruses
AI Engineers Novel Viruses with Complete Genomes for First Time
Ninoda.com – American scientists have achieved a milestone by employing artificial intelligence to construct entirely new viruses capable of functioning and reproducing within laboratory settings. This marks the inaugural instance where AI has successfully engineered complete viral genomes. The resulting collection comprises sixteen distinct viruses specifically designed to target bacteria, presenting no danger to human health.
Scientists describe this achievement as a pivotal moment in research that may herald a fresh chapter in medical treatments. Nevertheless, specialists caution that AI-created viruses introduce pressing safety and security considerations.
From Antibiotics to Viral Engineering
While AI systems have already demonstrated capability in creating novel antibiotics, constructing a fully viable virus from fundamental components represents a considerably more complex undertaking. Brian Hie, an assistant professor at Stanford University, explained the significance to the BBC:
This is a next step in the complexity that's designable by generative AI, this is the first time generative AI has been used to design a complete genome, it's something that can replicate and have other functions inside cells… this was new territory for us.
The underlying technology operates much like large language models such as ChatGPT, which forecast sequences of text. In this case, the AI systems—identified as Evo1 and Evo2—predict the "language of life" instead of conventional words. These models underwent training using genetic information sourced from viruses, bacteria, plants, and humans. Following refinement, they produced bacteriophages, a category of virus that targets only particular bacterial species.
Lab Results and Celebration
Stanford researchers selected the most promising three hundred and two AI-generated designs and synthesized them experimentally. Sixteen of these demonstrated effectiveness against E. coli bacteria. Samuel King, a doctoral candidate in the laboratory, noted that they recognized the phages were functioning during the early morning hours.
The phages were positioned on petri dishes containing bacterial layers, with scientists observing for evidence that their newly created viruses were thriving. King described the moment:
We were starting to see these clear spots and it was just extremely exciting.
Hie remembered that when findings were communicated to the broader research team, "the room spontaneously burst into applause."
Implications for Medicine and Security
The development of new phages could open pathways for treating infections that have grown resistant to conventional antibiotics. Phage therapy is increasingly viewed as a promising approach to address the escalating challenge of bacterial infections unresponsive to antibiotic treatment.
However, this advancement also highlights AI's capacity to create biological entities extending beyond natural existence—a field termed synthetic biology. Hie contends this capability holds potential to "massively improve human health" through the creation of novel pharmaceuticals and therapeutic approaches.
Concerns have emerged regarding the possibility that identical technology might be exploited to engineer new diseases. In a commentary published alongside the research in the journal Science, Dr. Thomas Inglesby and Dr. Moritz Hanke from the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University emphasized that the discoveries present "urgent biosafety and biosecurity questions."
They asserted that the issue is no longer whether generative viral genome design will emerge, but rather whether it can be implemented without "enabling serious harm." Specifically, they recommended that newly created viruses with disease-causing potential "should not be pursued."
Safety Measures and Future Prospects
The research team implemented multiple precautions to enhance safety. They removed viruses capable of infecting complex organisms from their training database, conducted the study using phages rather than human-infecting viruses, and performed all work within a secure laboratory environment. Hie maintains that existing protections substantially contribute to "ensuring that the technology is used for good."
Viruses do not qualify as living entities, and generating living organisms would require another substantial advancement. The phage genetic code spans approximately five thousand four hundred base pairs, whereas the smallest living cell genome contains roughly five hundred thousand base pairs. The human genome comprises three billion base pairs.
Hie suggested that attempting to create simple organisms would require considerable effort but remains feasible, noting they were "definitely interested in working towards" that goal.
Prof. Marc Güell from the synthetic biology laboratory at Pompeu Fabra University in Spain characterized the research as a "very significant turning point" due to its pioneering nature.
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