Scientists Create AI-Designed Viral Genomes That Kill Bacteria

Techno-optimist narrative

This is a transformative leap in biotechnology that could revolutionize the way we combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The AI-generated phages demonstrated superior performance, with some showing 16- to 65-fold expansion rates compared to the natural variants' modest 1.3- to 4-fold increases. Most importantly, these synthetic phage cocktails rapidly overcame bacterial resistance where natural phages had failed, offering hope against the growing crisis of multidrug-resistant infections that claim hundreds of thousands of lives annually.