AI Is Learning to Write Genetic Code
AI models generated viable bacteriophage genomes, with 16 designs successfully replicating and some outperforming the original virus at attacking E. coli.
Two AI models generated complete genome designs for bacteriophages modeled on ΦX174, a virus known to infect E. coli. Researchers produced about 700,000 candidate designs, selected 285 promising ones, and synthesized DNA inserted into E. coli, yielding 16 viable viruses. Some of the newly generated viruses proved more effective at attacking E. coli than the original bacteriophage.
- Models generated roughly 700,000 genome designs
- 16 of 285 selected designs produced viable bacteriophages
- Some synthetic viruses outperformed the original ΦX174
- First demonstration of AI-written genomes proving viable
Full article191 words · extracted from schneier.com · click to collapse
This sort of research is both exciting and terrifying:
The two models in question were told to generate complete genomes for a viable bacteriophage—a type of virus able to infect and replicate itself inside bacteria, destroying them from the inside.
Using an existing bacteriophage as an example—ΦX174 (pronounced “fie-ex-1-7-4”), known for its ability to infect and destroy E. coli bacteria—the models generated about 700,000 potential designs, of which the researchers picked 285 that looked most promising.
The researchers then synthesised new DNA molecules using those designs and inserted them into E. coli bacteria, before waiting to see if viable bacteriophages would emerge.
Shortly afterwards, 16 of the Petri dishes in which the bacteria were growing began to show clear spots, as the viruses began to attack and replicate themselves inside the E. coli, demonstrating their viability.
Some of those viable viruses proved more effective at attacking E. coli than the original ΦX174 bacteriophage.
That’s a positive use of a synthetic virus. We can all imagine the negative uses.
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Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/08/ai-is-learning-to-write-genetic-code.html