Google DeepMind Unveils AI Tool To Help Scientists Identify Genetic Drivers Of Disease
Google DeepMind has recently launched their newest artificial intelligence tool that they’re claiming will help scientists identify the genetic drivers of disease to ideally create new treatments.
DeepMind is a “team of scientists, engineers, ethicists, and more working to build the next generation of AI systems safely and responsibly, By solving some of the hardest scientific and engineering challenges of our time” the company is “working to create breakthrough technologies that could advance science, transform work, service diverse communities – and improve billions of people’s lives.”
The newest tool is known as AlphaGenome and it predicts how mutations interfere with the way genes are controlled, changing when they are switched on in which cells of the body, and whether their biological volume controls are set to high or low, according to reports from the Guardian.
AlphaGenome could potentially be a game changer for treating a multitude of different diseases and disorders. Heart disease, autoimmune disorders, cancers, and mental health issues all are linked to mutations impacting gene regulation, but it’s difficult for experts to specifically identify which genetic mutations are responsible.
In a press briefing regarding the new research and tool, DeepMind researcher Natasha Latysheva stated:
“We see AlphaGenome as a tool for understanding what the functional elements in the genome do, which we hope will accelerate our fundamental understanding of the code of life.”
The researchers trained AlphaGenome using public databases of both human and mouse genetics. This allowed the tool to learn connections between mutations in specific tissues, as well as their impact on gene regulation.
The human genome has about 3 billion pairs of letters that comprise the DNA code. The AI can analyze up to 1 million letters of DNA code at once to predict how mutations will affect different biological processes, reports state.
The team behind DeepMind believes that the tool will be able to help scientists map out which specific strands of genetic code are the most essential for the development of particular tissues, and pinpoint the most important mutations for driving cancer and other diseases.
Carl de Boer, a researcher who was not involved in the work, said:
“AlphaGenome can identify whether mutations affect genome regulation, which genes are impacted and how, and in what cell types. A drug could then be developed to counteract this effect.”
“Ultimately, our goal is to have models that are so good we don’t have to do an experiment to confirm their predictions. While AlphaGenome represents a significant innovation, achieving this goal will require continued work from the scientific community.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.