AI Discovers Promising New Drugs to Fight Superbugs 🦠

Hey!

Welcome to another exciting edition of Supermedic!

From the discovery of new antibiotics designed with AI to a study revealing the surprising link between personality and gene expression, these developments promise to transform the future of medicine.

Let’s dive into it!

Victor

TODAY’S MENU

• AI Discovers Promising New Drugs to Fight Superbugs

• Your Personality Shapes Your Genes According to AI study

• WHO Unveils AI-Powered Health Assistant: S.A.R.A.H.

• AI Tool Predicts Lethal Heart Rhythms with 80% Accuracy

• Top Stories from Last Month (in case you missed it!)

Read time: under 5 minutes

FUTURE IS NOW

AI Discovers Promising New Drugs to Fight Superbugs

Researchers at Stanford and McMaster University have developed a new AI model called SyntheMol that can create entirely new molecules with potential to combat resistant bacteria.

Here's the breakdown:

The Problem: Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health threat, with millions of deaths linked to it annually. New antibiotics are urgently needed.

The AI Solution: SyntheMol is a generative AI model that "hallucinates" new drug structures and chemical recipes for chemists to synthesize.

Unlike traditional methods that search known drug libraries, SyntheMol explores a vast new "chemical space" of potential antibiotics.

Early Success: The model has already generated 25,000 potential antibiotics in just hours, with six showing promise against a resistant strain of Acinetobacter baumannii and other notorious bacteria like E. coli and MRSA.

Next Steps: Researchers are further testing the six compounds for safety and efficacy in living body (mices for now). Studying their antibacterial mechanism could also lead to broader insights for future antibiotic development.

This research signifies a major breakthrough in combating antibiotic resistance. AI's potential for drug discovery is becoming increasingly evident, bringing us closer to a future where effective treatments exist for even the most resistant superbugs.

NEURO

Your Personality Shapes Your Genes: A New Look at Mind-Body Connection

What if your outlook on life has influence on your genes? A groundbreaking study reveals a fascinating link between personality traits and gene expression.

Key Findings:

• Genetic Network: Researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) identified a network of 4,000 genes that adapt their expression based on personality.

• Control Hub: 6 evolutionarily conserved genes act as a control center, coordinating emotional reactions and our perceptions of meaning.

• Creative Outlook: The study suggests cultivating a self-transcendent and creative perspective may positively affect gene expression and well-being.

Future Implications: While further research is needed, these findings pave the way for exploring interventions that enhance self-awareness and potentially improve health through gene expression modification. Existing mindfulness practices may hold promise in this area.

CHATBOT

WHO Unveils AI-Powered Health Assistant: S.A.R.A.H.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is launching a new tool to empower individuals with personalized health information: S.A.R.A.H.

What is S.A.R.A.H.?

Smart AI Resource Assistant for Health is a chatbot that uses the latest advancements in generative AI to offer an interactive and empathetic health assistant.

Interacting with S.A.R.AH. is completely free and gives your access to personnalized health information on a wide range of topics, anytime and anywhere, in eight languages and on any device.

S.A.R.A.H. aims to bridge the gap in healthcare access, ensuring everyone has the information they need to make informed choices about their health.

This was builds upon the success of previous WHO initiatives like Florence, a chatbot used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AI SAVES LIVES

AI Tool Predicts Lethal Heart Rhythms with 80% Accuracy

Researchers at the University of Leicester have developed an AI tool with the potential to save lives by identifying individuals at high risk of a fatal heart rhythm.

Key Findings:

• 80% Accuracy: The AI tool, VA-ResNet-50, successfully predicted ventricular arrhythmia (VA) in 80% of cases using data from Holter ECGs (24-hour heart rhythm recordings).

• Improved Risk Assessment: This technology offers a more accurate method to identify high-risk patients compared to current guidelines, potentially leading to earlier interventions like defibrillator implantation.

• Focus on "Normal" Rhythm: The AI analyzes seemingly normal ECGs to detect underlying risks for potentially life-threatening arrhythmias.

Published in the European Heart Journal, the study employed a large dataset, providing a robust foundation for the AI tool's predictive success.

While further research is needed to refine the tool before clinical use, this method shows promise in improving how implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are allocated to save lives.

TOP STORIES FROM LAST MONTH

Don't miss out on the most read stories from last month Supermedic edition:

1. Elon Musk's brain-chip startup Neuralink livestreamed its first patient implanted with a chip using his mind to play online chess

2. Nvidia announced a collaboration with Hippocratic AI, a healthcare company that offers generative AI nurses who work for just $9 an hour.

3. The Global AI in Healthcare market size is estimated to reach $148.4 billion by 2029.

4. Bioengineers have invented a thin, flexible device that adheres to the neck and translates the muscle movements of the larynx into audible speech.

5. Dartmouth researchers developed the first smartphone application that use AI to detect the onset of depression—based solely on facial expressions.

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