Entertainment
Google unveils AI tool probing mysteries of human genome
Google unveiled an artificial intelligence tool Wednesday that its scientists said would help unravel the mysteries of the human genome — and could one day lead to new treatments for diseases.
The deep learning model AlphaGenome was hailed by outside researchers as a “breakthrough” that would let scientists study and even simulate the roots of difficult-to-treat genetic diseases.
While the first complete map of the human genome in 2003 “gave us the book of life, reading it remained a challenge”, Pushmeet Kohli, vice president of research at Google DeepMind, told journalists.
“We have the text,” he said, which is a sequence of three billion nucleotide pairs represented by the letters A, T, C and G that make up DNA.
However “understanding the grammar of this genome — what is encoded in our DNA and how it governs life — is the next critical frontier for research,” said Kohli, co-author of a new study in the journal Nature.
Only around 2% of our DNA contains instructions for making proteins, which are the molecules that build and run the body.
The other 98% was long dismissed as “junk DNA” as scientists struggled to understand what it was for.
However this “non-coding DNA” is now believed to act like a conductor, directing how genetic information works in each of our cells.
These sequences also contain many variants that have been associated with diseases. It is these sequences that AlphaGenome is aiming to understand.
A million letters
The project is just one part of Google’s AI-powered scientific work, which also includes AlphaFold, the winner of 2024’s chemistry Nobel.
AlphaGenome’s model was trained on data from public projects that measured non-coding DNA across hundreds of different cell and tissue types in humans and mice.
The tool is able to analyse long DNA sequences then predict how each nucleotide pair will influence different biological processes within the cell.
This includes whether genes start and stop and how much RNA — molecules which transmit genetic instructions inside cells — is produced.
Other models already exist that have a similar aim. However they have to compromise, either by analysing far shorter DNA sequences or decreasing how detailed their predictions are, known as resolution.
DeepMind scientist and lead study author Ziga Avsec said that long sequences — up to a million DNA letters long — were “required to understand the full regulatory environment of a single gene”.
And the high resolution of the model allows scientists to study the impact of genetic variants by comparing the differences between mutated and non-mutated sequences.
“AlphaGenome can accelerate our understanding of the genome by helping to map where the functional elements are and what their roles are on a molecular level,” study co-author Natasha Latysheva said.
The model has already been tested by 3,000 scientists across 160 countries and is open for anyone to use for non-commercial reasons, Google said.
“We hope researchers will extend it with more data,” Kohli added.
‘Breakthrough’
Ben Lehner, a researcher at Cambridge University who was not involved in developing AlphaGenome but did test it, said the model “does indeed perform very well”.
“Identifying the precise differences in our genomes that make us more or less likely to develop thousands of diseases is a key step towards developing better therapeutics,” he explained.
However AlphaGenome “is far from perfect and there is still a lot of work to do”, he added.
“AI models are only as good as the data used to train them” and the existing data is not very suitable, he said.
Robert Goldstone, head of genomics at the UK’s Francis Crick Institute, cautioned that AlphaGenome was “not a magic bullet for all biological questions”.
This was partly because “gene expression is influenced by complex environmental factors that the model cannot see”, he said.
However the tool still represented a “breakthrough” that would allow scientists to “study and simulate the genetic roots of complex disease”, Goldstone added.
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- Trump confirms US–Iran talks, warns of possible military action.
- US deploys warships, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln, off Iran.
- Qatar’s PM holds talks in Tehran to help ease regional tensions.
Iran’s top security official said Saturday that progress had been made towards negotiations with the United States, even as the Islamic Republic’s army chief warned Washington against launching military strikes.
US President Donald Trump confirmed the two sides were talking, while keeping the threat of an attack in the foreground.
Washington has deployed warships led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier off Iran’s shores, after Trump threatened to intervene in the wake of Tehran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.
“Contrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing,” said Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
He was speaking a day after the Kremlin said he held talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday a broader conflict would hurt both Iran and the United States.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought, and in no way seeks, war and it is firmly convinced that a war would be in the interest of neither Iran, nor the United States, nor the region,” he said in a call with Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to the Iranian presidency.
Later Saturday, Trump confirmed that there was a dialogue between Washington and Tehran.
“(Iran is) talking to us, and we’ll see if we can do something, otherwise we’ll see what happens… we have a big fleet heading out there,” he told Fox News.
“They are negotiating,” he added.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said its premier, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as foreign minister, held talks in Tehran with Larijani on Saturday to try to “de-escalate tensions in the region”.
Fears of conflict
The arrival of the US flotilla has raised fears of a confrontation with Iran, which has warned it would respond with missile strikes on US bases, ships and allies — notably Israel — in the event of an attack.
Trump has said he believes Iran will make a deal over its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face US military action.
Tehran has said it is ready for nuclear talks if its missiles and defence capabilities are not on the agenda.
Iranian army chief Amir Hatami has warned the United States and Israel against any attack, saying his forces were “at full defensive and military readiness”.
“If the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime,” Hatami said, official news agency IRNA reported.
Iran’s nuclear technology and expertise “cannot be eliminated”, he added.
With tensions heightened, Iranian authorities rushed to deny that several incidents on Saturday were linked to any attack or sabotage.
They included an explosion in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas that local firefighters said was caused by a gas leak.
Naval exercise
On Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would conduct “a two-day live-fire naval exercise” in the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit hub for global energy supplies.
CENTCOM warned the IRGC against “any unsafe and unprofessional behaviour near US forces”, drawing a sharp response from Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“The US military is now attempting to dictate how our Powerful Armed Forces should conduct target practice in their own turf,” he wrote on X.
The United States designated the IRGC a terrorist organisation in 2019, a move the European Union followed on Thursday, prompting angry reactions from Tehran.
The United States carried out strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites in June when it briefly joined Israel’s 12-day war against its regional foe.
Nationwide protests against the rising cost of living erupted on December 28, before turning into a broader anti-government movement that peaked on January 8 and 9 in what authorities called “riots” blamed on the United States and Israel.
‘Serve the people’
The official death toll from the authorities stands at 3,117.
However, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it has confirmed 6,713 deaths, including 137 children.
On Saturday, Pezeshkian urged his government to heed public grievances and “serve the people”.
Some Iranians at the Kapikoy border point separating Iran and Turkey, where a little over 100 people crossed on Saturday, said they wanted to be free of the clerical leaders in Tehran.
“They were shooting us in the back. We were even targeted through our windows,” said Shabnan, using a pseudonym. “Everyone has lost loved ones, friends, neighbours, acquaintances.”
Kanye West surprised his fans in Mexico City when he brought his daughter North on stage for an unexpected duet during his concert on Friday night.
The 48 year old rapper performed at the Monumental Plaza de Toros La Mexico, where the crowd watched as her daughter confidently joined him under the stage lights.
The father and daughter dup performed Only One, a song known for its emotional meaning, while fog covered the stage.
Kanye appeared dressed in white, while North stood out with her blue hair, black shades and bold accessories, which she’s mostly known for.
However, they moved calmly across the stage, keeping a little distance while connecting with fans all around them.
When they walked off together, Kanye felt that moment and was seen smiling proudly of her daughter.
Kim Kardashian’s daughter later shared clips of her outfit on social media, giving fans a closer look at the moment.
The pair also performed their new song Piercing On My Hand, which North co wrote with her father.
Moreover, the track responds to criticism she faced at such young age over her style and piercings.
For the unversed, music became a major part of North’s life, as her mother shared that North takes music classes and she often bond with her father through creative work.
The 12-year-old has already appeared on major albums, live performances and even announced plans for her own debut project.
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