gothenburg [Sweden]: Historically, analysis has been limited by the large amount of data that can be collected using a microscope to record biological activities. Wearing artificial intelligence (AI), the University of Gothenburg researchers can now track the movement of cells over time and place. The technique could be highly beneficial in creating more powerful cancer treatments.
Study the movements and behaviors of cells and biological molecules under the microscope provides fundamental information to better understand the processes related to our health. Studies of how cells behave in different settings are important for developing new technologies and medical treatments.
“In the last two decades, light microscopy has advanced significantly. It allows us to study biological life down to the smallest detail both in space and time. Living systems move in all possible directions and at different speeds,” said Jesús Pineda, a doctoral student. at the University of Gothenburg and first author of the scientific article in Nature Machine Intelligence.
Mathematics describes the relationships of particles.
Advances have given today’s researchers such vast amounts of data that analysis is nearly impossible. But now, researchers at the University of Gothenburg have developed an artificial intelligence method that combines graph theory and neural networks that can select reliable information from video clips.
Graph theory is a mathematical structure that is used to describe the relationships between different particles in the studied sample. It is comparable to a social network in which particles interact and influence the behavior of others directly or indirectly.
“The AI method uses the information from the graph to adapt to different situations and can solve multiple tasks in different experiments. For example, our AI can reconstruct the path individual cells or molecules take when moving to achieve a certain biological function. This means that researchers can test the effectiveness of different drugs and see how well they work as potential cancer treatments,” said Jesús Pineda.
Pharmaceutical companies already using AI
AI also makes it possible to describe all the dynamical aspects of particles in situations where other methods would not be effective. Therefore, pharmaceutical companies have already incorporated this method into their research and development process.
