Can AI Unearth New Antibiotics From Ancient DNA? | A Conversation With Prof. César De La Fuente
Release Date: 04/18/2026
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info_outlineWhat can the DNA of Neanderthals, woolly mammoths, and ancient proteins tell us about the future of medicine? In this episode, Professor César de la Fuente sits down to discuss his fascinating research goal: using the power of machines to accelerate discoveries in biology and medicine…
This conversation explores:
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The growing global health threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
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Why ancient DNA and extinct organisms may hold clues for next-generation antibiotics.
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The role that AI plays in uncovering the genetic data of extinct organisms.
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What the future of machine biology could mean for human health.
Prof. de la Fuente is Presidential Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he leads the Machine Biology Group. He is one of the youngest tenured professors in the history of Penn Medicine. He completed postdoctoral research at MIT and earned his PhD from the University of British Columbia.
He is widely recognized for pioneering the first computer-designed antibiotic shown to be effective in animal models, which is an achievement that helped launch the emerging field of AI-driven antibiotic discovery. His lab has since identified more than one million potential antimicrobial compounds through computational biology.
In addition, Prof. de la Fuente has delivered over 350 invited lectures worldwide, co-authored an influential book on machine learning for drug discovery, secured multiple patents, and published more than 180 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals, including Cell, Science, Nature Communications, PNAS, and Advanced Materials.
You can follow Prof. de la Fuente’s latest discoveries and research here!
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🛍️ Recommended Books from this Episode
📖 Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues – A groundbreaking look at the human microbiome and how excessive antibiotic use may disrupt beneficial bacteria, contributing to modern health issues.
👉 Get it here
📘 Revenge of the Microbes: How Bacterial Resistance Is Undermining the Antibiotic Miracle – A powerful exploration of antibiotic resistance and the growing global threat posed by evolving microbes.
👉 Check it out
📙 The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug – A gripping real-life story of survival, innovation, and the fight against antibiotic-resistant infections.
👉 Explore it here
📕 Antibiotics: Actions, Origins, Resistance – A detailed scientific resource covering how antibiotics work, where they come from, and the mechanisms behind resistance.
👉 Discover it here
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