Artificial intelligence or ‘AI’ can be defined as machine intelligence which utilizes computer systems for the manufacturing of smart machines that are tuned to perform complex tasks that generally require human intellect. AI enables us to perform such functions that involve the use of brainpower such as decision-making power, speech recognition visual perception and language translation.
At present, AI is a hot topic of discussion since like in numerous other areas; its use is also substantiated in medical applications. Artificial intelligence has only shown the potential of pre-warning of an epidemic that is about to come, but also helps in discerning the rate and pathway a microorganism adopts while spreading from one host to another. Moreover, AI allows in estimating the devastating impact of an epidemic at an early hour which is again helpful in taking necessary precautions against disease.
BlueDot is an example of such an AI database company that makes use of machine learning and algorithms to analyze the future impact of ongoing epidemic. In the present scenario, BlueDot made a highly beneficial contribution by forewarning its customers to avoid Wuhan, the city from where the disease spread initiated, well before the warning statement was release by internationally recognized health forums. Utilizing its AI power, the company also generated information regarding the disease outbreak in other cities based upon the flight traveler data of flight routes.
Since the onset of COVID-19, various artificial intelligence-based companies are indulged in struggles to make wise of this computerized technology and put their share of efforts in dealing with this dangerous epidemic. At present, several research projects are being proceeded to identify the use of pre-existing drugs regarding their effectiveness to treat COVID-19 patients. The molecular setup of various drugs is being studied to analyze their suitability in targeting coronavirus.
A London based company namely BenevolentA redirected its efforts towards coronavirus in the month of January as the pandemic started to gain momentum. The AI-based knowledge graph of the company contains a vast amount of scientific publications and biomedical knowledge that they utilize to investigate the relevance of disease attributes with the drug’s composition and mechanism of action.
The surprising efficiency of Artificial Intelligence Bioinformatics can be realized from the fact that the whole-genome sequence of novel coronavirus was studied in just one month which is the first step towards creating an exact laboratory-based replica of the virus. This technological progress will further assist in the development of quick diagnostic tests as well as prospective vaccine for COVID-19.
Another AI-based sub-branch of ‘Alphabet’ namely ‘DeepMind’ is also working hard towards investigating microorganism protein structure keeping in view the same goal of finding suitable drugs against COVID-19. ‘AlphaFold’ is the library established by DeepMind which pursues genomic studies to predict the protein folding and targeting within the microorganism. Proteomic studies make it possible to identify the best suitable drug that binds to the receptors and disrupts cell processes. Although the studies performed by AlphaFold are still not put forward for practical interpretation, however, the company is now encouraging researchers to use the generated information to develop an effective treatment for coronavirus pandemic.
While observing the latest updates, it is not wrong to say that artificial Intelligence is putting a significant share of efforts in the fight against precarious coronavirus and we will undoubtedly witness much more fruitful progress in computational biology in the coming years.
by: Noor ul Ain
Tags: AI Feasible in Fight Against Coronavirus
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.