FRIDAY, 02/16/18

AI & BIOINFORMATICS
WHY USE AI IN BIOLOGY?
▸ The field of biology is still growing, and scientists are
trying to learn more about genetics and disease.

▸ Research in fields such as medicine and genetics involves

a lot of data

▸ There is too much information for humans to analyze

on their own.

▸ AI is good at analyzing and learning from large amounts of

data

▸ AI’s are able to find accurate trends and patterns, as

well as predict results.
BIOINFORMATICS
‣ Interdisciplinary field

‣ Computer science

‣ Biology

‣ Mathematics

‣ Used in

‣ Genetics and genomics

‣ Molecular biology
GENETICS AND MEDICINE
▸ Human genome is comprised of 3
billion base pairs

▸ DNA is subject to mutations, which

can cause diseases, such as:
▸ Cancer
▸ Sickle Cell Anemia
▸ Cystic Fibrosis

▸ Scientists are now using AI to

detect these diseases, improve
medicine, and find cures by
analyzing gene expressions.
TECHNIQUE
▸ Training Set

▸ Test Set

▸ Algorithms

▸ SVM

▸ KNN
CRISPR
▸ What is it?

▸ Is a gene editing technology that cuts and alters DNA at

a specific section of a gene

▸ Applications

▸ Recently, it was used to identify HPV and Zika

▸ Can potentially be used to combat cancer, HIV, and ALS

▸ Can be used to edit diseases out of human embryos

▸ A problem scientists face is the effect an alteration on one

section will have on other genes.
HOW AI HELPS WITH CRISPR
▸ In the past, scientists would have had to run experiments
testing all possible cuts.

▸ This is costly and time-consuming.

▸ Instead, with AI and machine learning, they can run an

algorithm on CRISPR data to find a computational model

▸ This tells them which sites CRISPR would have the

most beneficial effect on.
LINKS

▸ https://blogs.microsoft.com/ai/crispr-gene-editing/

▸ https://cspo.org/where-genome-editing-and-artificial-
intelligence-collide/

▸ https://singularityhub.com/2018/02/15/the-power-to-
upgrade-our-biology-and-the-ethics-of-human-
enhancement/#sm.0019a6tdjg04e3311491wmvfjcnkg

▸ https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/15/crispr-detect-
hpv-and-zika/