AlphaGenome can analyse up to 1m letters of DNA code at once and could pave way for new treatments
Researchers at Google DeepMind have unveiled their latest artificial intelligence tool and claimed it will help scientists identify the genetic drivers of disease and ultimately pave the way for new treatments.
AlphaGenome 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.
Most common diseases that run in families, including heart disease and autoimmune disorders, as well as mental health problems, have been linked to mutations that affect gene regulation, as have many cancers, but identifying which genetic glitches are to blame is far from straightforward.
“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,” Natasha Latysheva, a DeepMind researcher, told a press briefing on the work.
