A newAItool that predicts viral mutations could guide treatments for COVID-19 and the next pandemic.
A studypublished last week inNaturerevealed an array of promising results.
EVEscapes forecasts proved more accurate than experimental approaches, while faster and more efficient than lab-based tests.
The tool also successfully pinpointed therapies that would struggle to subdue new variants.
The predictions are already informing pandemic monitoring efforts.
For over a year, the researchers have been releasingbiweekly rankingsof the most concerning new SARS-CoV-2 strains.
The findings are shared with groups including the World Health Organization (WHO).
EVEscape allows us to rapidly determine the threat level of the new strains.
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Theyre now testing the tool on lesser-known that could also cause pandemics, such as Nipah and Lassa.
In thefuture, the researchers envision EVEscape informing vaccine design.
At present, vaccines and therapeutics are tested retrospectively against previous pandemic mutations.
EVEscape could add evaluations on where the virus might go next.
This offers hope for a powerful new treatment: variant-proof vaccines.
Initially, EVE was developed to predict the risks of genetic mutations causing human diseases, such as cancers.
Generative models have unique strengths for this job.
This fitness leads to a functional protein that expresses, folds, and binds to the host cell receptor.
Generative models trained on evolutionary sequences are critically helpful in supporting that prediction, said Nodin.
To make the predictions, EVE is trained to learn acompact representation ofcertainprotein sequences.
These sequences have maintained their fitness over thousands to millions of years of evolution.
By doing so, it has to implicitly learn the biochemical constraints that underpin functional sequences, Nodin explained.
AIs future fight against viruses
EVEscapes adaptability stems from its simplicity.
The tool learns from a dataset comprised of only viral protein sequences and their structure.
As a result, it can be applied to any virus and at the very start of a pandemic.
Another string to EVEscapes bow is its modular design.
When more powerful generative models emerge, the current fitness prediction models can be swiftly replaced.
COVID-19 has also expanded the potential uses of EVEscape.
The pandemic provided important lessons about AI predictions and an immense pool ofdata.
That could prove immensely valuable in future outbreaks.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
