Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Bioinformatics

The term “bioinformatics” was first defined by Paulien Hogewen and her college Ben Hesper in 1970 as “the study of informatics processes in biotic systems”. In recent years, bioinformatics is considered as an interdisciplinary field involving a combination of biology, computer science, mathematics and even statistics. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a new tool of computer science that is becoming more popular among scientists. Since AI incoporates deep machine learning (ML), scientists understand the importance of using AI in reading and analyzing large datasets for prediction and pattern identifying purposes in the research field.

Applications of AI in Bioinformatics

Classifying proteins

Proteins are the basic building blocks of life- they are responsible for all the biological processes of a cell. There are different types of proteins and they are grouped according to their biological functions. As many proteins have extremely similar primary structures and a common origin of evolution, it is tasking to classify proteins. This issue can be combated by using AI and its computational ability. There are many methods to classify proteins using AI, but a common method is to produce a computer program that is able to compare amino acid sequences to the known sequences of proteins from large databases, using this information to classify the target protein.

Analyzing and classifying proteins accurately are of the utmost importance as proteins are responsible for many key functions in an organism.

Scientists can further use this technology to predict protein function by comparing the amino acid sequence and the specific sequence of amino acids that codes for a gene.

Computer Aided Drug Design (CADD)

CADD is a specialized field of research using computational methods to simulate how drugs react with harmful cells. This is especially useful in drug discovery techniques when scientists attempt to find the best possible chemical compound for a cure (for for example, cancer cells). This technology relies heavily on information available from databases and computational resources. AI is able to manage these tasks efficiently, saving the time and energy of many scientists.

As shown above, there are many different applications of AI in the field of bioinformatics. With increasing technologies, scientists will be more able to integrate AI into more aspects of bioinformatics, which will especially benefit scientists in the research field.

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Published at Mon, 10 Aug 2020 16:57:52 +0000

Online education market set to grow by $350b by 2025

The photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Sajjad Ahmad, Gulf Today

Online learning has shown significant growth over the last decade. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, online schools have become more centric in people’s lives. As per research and market forecasts, the online education market is set to grow by $350 billion by 2025.

According to iCademy Middle East, a KHDA registered online school in the UAE, there has been an exponential growth in student enrollments given the current situation. Cody Claver, General Manager, iCademy said, “We are anticipating that our school may double in size.” iCademy Middle East is accredited by NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges), and graduates are accepted to top flight universities throughout the world.

Online schooling has several advantages – right from a fully articulated curriculum that matches online lessons with offline supporting materials, to every student being given an individualised learning plan that outlines each day lessons. In addition, teachers are trained to teach students online and are provided the tools to successfully engage students in their learning.

Through online learning platforms, teachers are able to monitor student progress, strengths and areas of need, as well as be more diagnostic in understanding the needs of students and then prescribe the proper teaching methods to help students achieve greater success in their learning. As with all business and learning models today, technology is particularly important to the growth of online education. “Online education really requires students to take ownership at an earlier age for their learning. The truth is you cannot hide in online education, either you are doing the work, or you are not. Systems will mine data and information on student progress and understanding.

If students are not engaging in online learning teachers and administrators will know that immediately. Future learners will know and understand the need for taking initiative and that will ultimately be impactful on industry, entrepreneurs and economies of the future,” added Claver.

It’s a fact that online schooling is the future and will undoubtedly replace traditional methods. In the future, it will not be surprising to see more elements such as artificial intelligence or more advanced machine learning algorithms democratise the learning.

Published at Mon, 10 Aug 2020 16:30:00 +0000