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TechyDad t1_j46kg5n wrote

I'm especially excited about AI/machine learning generation of new drugs. We can already do this to a great extent. I don't think it'll be long before you can tell the computer "I want a drug that will have this effect with as few side effects as possible" and have it spit out 10 great contenders. Yes, those would still need to pass human trials, but it would reduce the amount of "miracle cures" that turn out to be duds once human trials begin.

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[deleted] t1_j46s7oz wrote

That would be so great and solve so many problems. Do you really think this is possible in the foreseeable future? If so, cool!

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TechyDad t1_j46ut67 wrote

I believe the first part of this is already in use. Drug companies can tell a computer "we need a chemical that will bind to this receptor. The computer will look through the possibilities and spot out some likely candidates. The drug companies then only have to test 10 or so likely drugs as opposed to looking at random for a suitable drug.

I'd expect that future iterations would incorporate modeling to guess at side effects. It won't be perfect (especially not at first), but it would give drug researchers a better head start on which compounds would give the biggest bang with the least side effects.

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CyberAchilles t1_j484789 wrote

I can't wait until Ai/machine learning caters drugs to your specific body rather than a generic all-around use drug.

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