How is AI Helping Us Learn About the Body?
Biomedical science typically proceeds in small steps, with very occasional breakthroughs. Artificial intelligence has been changing this pace dramatically, most notably with recent (and astonishing) progress in helping us understand important body processes. Before explaining, I need to set the stage.
The human body is composed of cells — trillions of them — of many different types. For example, the cells in your eyes that see light are different from the cells in your stomach that make acid. The function and behavior of each cell is governed by tiny “machines” within it.
Those machines are made of molecules (including nucleic acids, ions and, above all, proteins), each with its own shape. Those shapes, and how they interact, control how the machine works. Understanding that has been a Holy Grail of biomedical science.
Excerpted from Harvard Health Publishing
