Artificial Intelligence used to design brand new viruses

Key Points:

• US researchers have used artificial intelligence to design 16 fully functional viruses, specifically bacteriophages that infect bacteria but pose no threat to humans, marking the first time whole viral genomes have been created by AI.
• The AI models, Evo1 and Evo2, were trained on genetic codes from various organisms and refined to produce bacteriophages, with 16 out of 302 synthesized designs effectively killing E. coli bacteria in lab tests.
• This breakthrough represents a significant advance in synthetic biology, potentially enabling new treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections and other medical applications, though experts warn of urgent biosafety and biosecurity concerns.
• Researchers took precautions by excluding viruses that infect complex organisms and conducting experiments in secure labs, but experts caution that AI-designed viruses could be misused to create harmful pathogens.
• The study is seen as a milestone in designing biology computationally, opening possibilities for future developments in medicine and biotechnology, including designing more complex organisms and therapies.