Medicine and research related to medicine is probably the most positively impacted field because of advances in technology, data science, and artificial intelligence (AI). Using advanced supercomputers, scientists can crunch large amounts of data. Currently, the most valuable datasets are coming from linking national genomic databases, pushed forward by the EU. The EU has set an ambitious target of linking national databases with intent to provide cross-border access to each other’s genomic information, with access to at least 1 million genomes by 2022. As a result, this should propel forwards fast and relatively inexpensive genome sequencing allowing to better examine the link between genes and cancer; and in this case COVID-19 as well. Genome sequencing is about figuring out the order of the bits and pieces of DNA bits and it is mostly done by high-tech machines or supercomputers.
To assist in detecting ways of how cancers and diseases (such as COVID-19) develop, NVIDIA has announced that it will build 29th most powerful supercomputer. Researchers from pharmaceuticals such as GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca and from national institutions such as King’s College London, one of Oxford departments, and one of the NHS hospitals will be able to make use of the machine. Cambridge-1 – nickname of the new NVIDIA supercomputer – will significantly increase speeds of sequencing of genomes, allowing researchers to simulate the spread of the virus and its effects on the different configurations of the DNA.
In my opinion, it is truly exciting to see how will be able to detect the diseases using computers. I strongly believe that with supercomputers and ML will allow humans to be able to live longer and better lives. Already, machine learning is being trained to detect cancerous cells, and the experiments are already yielding results that are almost as accurate as when done by human experts, but a lot faster.
What do you think about this? How do you think the field of data science will revolutionise the field of biology? Can it potentially substitute the need for doctors altogether?
Sources:
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/eu-countries-will-cooperate-linking-genomic-databases-across-borders
https://bit.ly/3nADz4v – EC Website – Finding the cures for cancer: AI and supercomputers paving the way to personalised medicine
https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-building-uks-most-powerful-supercomputer-dedicated-to-ai-research-in-healthcare
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01128-8
