Scientists Use AI to Design Synthetic Viruses for Research

Researchers from Stanford University and the Arc Institute used an AI tool named Evo to successfully generate 16 viable synthetic viruses from 300 tested laboratory candidates.

The study, published in the journal Science, demonstrates that AI can design complete viral genomes capable of infecting E. coli bacteria that had developed resistance to natural phages.

Dr. Filippa Lentzos of King’s College London warned that such research requires a layered regulatory approach, including synthesis screening and strict laboratory biosafety protocols to manage security risks.