Researchers have developed DECIPHAER, an AI-assisted tool that precisely determines how TB drugs kill bacteria at the molecular level, potentially speeding up the development of more effective treatments.

DECIPHAER successfully identified that a clinical TB drug impairs the bacteria's respiratory chain rather than destroying the cell wall, challenging previous assumptions.

Published in Cell Systems, this research represents a transformative step in microbiology and drug discovery, paving the way for more targeted TB treatments.

Next steps include validating these findings and integrating them into clinical practice to accelerate the creation of new TB therapies and combat drug resistance.

The researchers intend to expand DECIPHAER's use across various diseases, aiming to accelerate drug discovery and optimize treatments.

Traditional methods lacked the precision to determine how TB drugs kill bacteria, which hindered the development of improved treatment regimens.

DECIPHAER links bacterial shape and structural changes to gene expression profiles, providing detailed, rapid, and cost-effective insights into drug impacts compared to traditional RNA sequencing.

This innovative technology allows scientists to distinguish whether TB drugs target bacterial cell walls or energy production, providing detailed insights into their mechanisms.

By enabling faster evaluation of various drug combinations and conditions, DECIPHAER facilitates the development of new therapies, especially for drug-resistant TB.

TB remains a deadly infectious disease requiring long-term, multi-drug treatment, with rising drug resistance complicating efforts to combat it.

The research team plans to continue using DECIPHAER and aims to foster global collaborations to speed up TB drug development, with potential applications for other infectious diseases and cancer.

Beyond TB, DECIPHAER's technology could be applied to studying other infectious diseases and cancers, supporting the development of new treatment strategies worldwide.

This approach reduces costs and time significantly, making drug testing more accessible, especially in resource-limited settings where TB is prevalent.