Researchers at MIT utilized generative artificial intelligence to design structurally novel antibiotics targeting drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae and MRSA. Screening millions of AI-generated compounds computationally for antimicrobial activity identified candidates that function via unique mechanisms disrupting bacterial membranes. This approach expands accessible chemical space beyond known antibiotics. The study, published in Cell, exemplifies AI’s accelerating role in combating antibiotic resistance through innovative drug discovery.