AI 'scientist' bolsters fight against drug-resistant malaria

London, Jan 18 (PTI) An artificially-intelligent'robot scientist' has helped identify a common toothpaste ingredient that can fight strains of malaria parasite that have grown resistant currently-used drugs. Malaria kills over half a million people each year, predominantly in Africa and south-east Asia. While a number of medicines are used to treat the disease, malaria parasites are growing increasingly resistant to these drugs, raising the spectre of untreatable malaria in the future. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, employed the robot scientist'Eve' in a high-throughput screen and discovered that triclosan, an ingredient found in many toothpastes, may help the fight against drug-resistance. When used in toothpaste, triclosan prevents the build-up of plaque bacteria by inhibiting the action of an enzyme known as enoyl reductase (ENR), which is involved in the production of fatty acids.