Software To Predict Exactly What Happens When You Edit A Gene

Tests on human genes are expensive and controversial, and no one is quite sure whether gene changes will have their desired effect. Now the Canadian startup Deep Genomics claims it has developed a computer program that can play out the different possible effects of genetic manipulation based on computers' deep learning. Understanding how genes work is complicated because they exist in a dialogue with other genes, turning each other off or on and generating different molecules for the body to use. Researchers have been trying to understand these relationships to better treat medical conditions from cancer to schizophrenia, but the web seems to be too complicated for us to understand. That’s where deep learning comes in—using a huge dataset of people’s genetic information with its various mutations, Deep Genomics’ software can learn how cells read their genetic code and what molecules they make as a result.