Machine Intelligence Cracks Genetic Controls

Emily Singer, Wired Magazine

EVERY CELL IN your body reads the same genome, the DNA-encoded instruction set that builds proteins. But your cells couldn’t be more different. Neurons send electrical messages, liver cells break down chemicals, muscle cells move the body. How do cells employ the same basic ...

The Dark Corners of Our DNA Hold Clues about Disease

 Patchen Barss, Scientific American

The so-called “streetlight effect” has often fettered scientists who study complex hereditary diseases. The term refers to an old joke about a drunk searching for his lost keys under a streetlight. A cop asks, "Are you sure this is where you lost them?" The drunk ...

Unlocking DNA secrets with a Canadian genome search engine

Carolyn Abraham, Globe and Mail

Often called the book of life, human DNA has been no easy read for scientists, who face the staggering challenge of figuring out which genetic mutations lead to disease. People carry millions of them in their code, and there has been no efficient way to ...

Machine learning reveals unexpected genetic roots of cancers, autism and other disorders

Marit Mitchell, U of T Engineering News

In the decade since the genome was sequenced in 2003, scientists, engineers and doctors have struggled to answer an all-consuming question: Which DNA mutations cause disease? A new computational technique developed at the University of Toronto may now be able to tell us. A Canadian ...

'Deep learning' computers cast new light on DNA

Sean Davidson, CBC News

Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a new way to read the human genome, which could answer stubborn questions about how flaws in DNA lead to disease. The team, led by Prof. Brendan Frey, has used "deep learning" computer technology to read the ...