by Artificial intelligence is transforming various fields and omics studies are one of the major areas where AI is having significant impact. Omics involve high-throughput techniques to analyze various types of biological data like genomics, proteomics, metabolomics etc. AI and machine learning models are increasingly being used to analyze huge amounts of omics data to gain novel biological insights.
Use of AI in Genomics
Genomics involves studying the structure, function, evolution and mapping of genomes. Next generation sequencing techniques are now capable of rapidly sequencing whole genomes. However, analyzing this massive genomic data requires sophisticated computational methods. AI models like deep neural networks are being extensively used for various genomic applications like base calling, variant calling, genome assembly etc. AI researchers from China, USA, UK and other countries are working on deep learning based tools for primary genomic data analysis. AI in Omics Studies also enhancing genome interpretation by identifying non-coding regulatory elements, predicting effects of genomic variants on diseases and drug responses. Large genomic datasets from projects like 1000 Genomes and UK Biobank are fueling the development of powerful AI models for personalized genomics and precision medicine.
Application of AI in Transcriptomics
In transcriptomics, expression levels of thousands of genes are measured using techniques like RNA-seq. Analyzing transcriptomic data to understand cellular mechanisms and biomarker discovery requires handling massive high-dimensional datasets. Canadian and European researchers have developed convolutional neural network (CNN) based approaches for alternative splicing detection from RNA-seq data. Researchers from India and Australia are applying self-supervised learning techniques for functional transcriptomic annotation without requiring labeled data. AI is also assisting in integrating multi-omics datasets to identify transcriptomic biomarkers and gain systems level insights into biological processes and diseases. Overall, AI is becoming indispensable for extracting meaningful patterns from huge transcriptomic datasets generated globally.
AI Augmenting Proteomics Research
Proteomics involves studying the structures, functions and interactions of proteins. However, extensive computational analysis is required to process and interpret data from techniques like mass spectrometry. Scientists from Germany, Japan and USA have developed deep learning based tools for tandem mass spectrometry based protein identification and quantification from complex proteomic samples. Researchers from China are applying graph neural networks for predicting protein structure and interactions from amino acid sequences. AI is also enhancing large-scale analysis of clinical proteomic data to discover protein biomarkers. Overall, AI is playing a vital role in advancing global proteomics research by automating data-intensive tasks and powering systems biology approaches.
Role of AI in Metabolomics and Beyond
Metabolomics studies small molecule metabolites in biological samples. However, high variability and complexity of metabolomic datasets poses analytical challenges. Scientists from various institutes in Europe like Netherlands, Sweden and UK have designed machine learning workflows for automated annotation, quantification and integration of metabolomic data. Metabolomic researchers from USA are applying transfer learning techniques to build predictive models utilizing data from multiple metrologically similar omics platforms. Additionally, AI is also assisting in other emerging omics domains like lipidomics, phenomics, glycomics etc globally to catalyze biological discovery.
Challenges and Future Outlook
While AI is revolutionizing omics research globally, there are also challenges to be addressed. Lack of standardized large public omics datasets currently limits the potential of deep learning approaches. Transferring AI models between different disease settings and populations also needs attention. Ensuring reliability and interpretability of AI tools remains important. Strategic international collaborations between researchers, funding agencies and industries will be crucial to leverage the full potential of AI for global omics studies. With continuously increasing computational power and omics data volumes, AI is poised to transform life sciences research and clinical applications over the coming decades.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
