Communications of the ACM
AI 'scientist' Finds That Toothpaste Ingredient May Help Fight Drug-Resistant Malaria
Researchers at the University of Cambridge using an artificially intelligent "robot scientist" discovered that a toothpaste ingredient could be used as a drug against otherwise drug-resistant strains of malaria.
Credit: chianesedental.com
Researchers at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. using Eve, an artificially intelligent "robot scientist," discovered that triclosan, a toothpaste ingredient, could be used as a drug against strains of malaria that are resistant to existing drugs.
The researchers found, with the help of Eve, that triclosan can affect the malarial parasite's growth by inhibiting an enzyme of the parasite called DHFR. DHFR is the target of an established antimalarial drug, called pyrimethamine, but resistance to the drug among malaria parasites is common, especially in Africa.
The researchers demonstrated that triclosan was able to target and act on this enzyme even in pyrimethamine-resistant parasites.
"The discovery by our robot 'colleague' Eve that triclosan is effective against malaria targets offers hope that we may be able to use it to develop a new drug," says former University of Cambridge professor Elizabeth Bilsland.
From University of Cambridge
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