Revolutionizing Virus Prevention: Harvard and Oxford’s AI Tool Predicts COVID-19 Variants
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to make groundbreaking advances in various fields, and the medical community is no exception. In a recent study published in Nature, researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of Oxford unveiled a new AI tool called EVEscape, which has the potential to revolutionize virus prevention and combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Traditionally, AI has been associated with tasks such as fighting digital viruses or performing computer-related functions. However, modern AI has proven its real-world applications, as demonstrated by the development of EVEscape. This AI virus tool has the capability to predict virus transformations and gather crucial biological and structural information about specific pathogens, which could have immensely helped in tackling the COVID-19 crisis.
EVEscape is an evolution of EVE, which originally stood for evolutionary model of variant effect. EVE primarily focused on gene mutations that cause human diseases, specifically heart rhythm disorders and cancers. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the constantly changing nature of the virus, researchers saw an opportunity to enhance EVE’s capabilities.
Computational biologist Debora Marks and her team realized that the virus’s ability to mutate rapidly presented a significant challenge. This led them to rebuild EVE into EVEscape, an AI virus tool specialized in predicting viral variants. By incorporating biological and structural details of specific viruses, EVEscape can differentiate between different variants and identify the most problematic ones.
The power of EVEscape lies in its ability to process thousands of new SARS-CoV-2 variants on a weekly basis. By rapidly determining the threat level of these variants, the tool can assist in making informed public health decisions sooner. In fact, the team behind EVEscape regularly updates their website with a biweekly ranking of new SARS-CoV-2 variants discovered using the tool, allowing the public to witness its capabilities firsthand.
In addition to predicting viral variants, EVEscape also plays a crucial role in evaluating vaccines and therapies against current and future viral variants. As the virus continues to evolve, it is crucial to design effective treatments that can combat these mutations. EVEscape aids scientists in this process by providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of existing vaccines and therapies, thereby enabling the development of more targeted and efficient approaches.
While Harvard and Oxford’s EVEscape focuses on vaccine creation, another AI system developed by medical technology firm LabGenius aims to create antibodies instead. Vaccines help the body’s immune system generate antibodies for specific pathogens, while antibodies themselves are proteins that latch onto viruses, bacteria, and other antigens. LabGenius’s AI system explores potential combinations of amino acids to create antibodies that can effectively combat diseases.
LabGenius’s AI system, much like EVEscape, learns from experimental results to optimize the selection process. By analyzing the behavior of healthy and diseased cells, the AI system can explore different antibody designs capable of distinguishing between them. This approach significantly increases the efficiency of antibody creation, surpassing traditional human protein designers.
The development of these AI virus tools marks a significant milestone in virus prevention and therapy design. Harvard and Oxford’s EVEscape and LabGenius’ AI system not only contribute to the fight against the current COVID-19 pandemic, but also have the potential to prevent future global virus outbreaks. With their ability to predict viral variants and aid in the creation of future-proof vaccines and antibodies, these AI tools offer hope for a safer world.
To learn more about EVEscape and its capabilities, visit the official Harvard Gazette website. Stay updated on the latest technological trends and digital insights at Inquirer Tech, where you can find valuable information and provide a balanced view of emerging technologies in the ever-evolving world we live in.
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