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Start-Up Claims to Treat a Patient With A.I.-Created Viruses

Researchers say they tailored a virus to attack one patient's infection, using viruses that can sometimes clear antibiotic-resistant infections; the claim comes from the start-up itself.

Photo: Bacteriophage
Photo: Dr. Victor Padilla-Sanchez, PhD… · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

The real story

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What BBN said about it

  1. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThe New York Times says a start-up claims it treated a patient with viruses designed by A.I.

  2. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThese are viruses that attack bacteria, and they can sometimes clear infections that antibiotics can't.

  3. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorA claim, so I'll call it promising and leave the word proven in the green room until someone checks.

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From the archive: everything BBN aired on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 · the Pop Culture archive · all months