AI-designed virus signals leap in synthetic biology, prompts safety debates

Researchers at Genyro used an AI system called Evo2 to design 285 new viruses from scratch, with Evo-Φ2147 created to kill antibiotic-resistant E. coli; the build relies on Sidewinder for genome assembly and could speed up creation of living genomes, vaccines, or personalised cancer therapies—while sparking concerns about AI-enabled biothreats and biosafety.