AI used to create ‘one-stop shop’ of coronavirus scientific research

Artificial intelligence is being used to create a “one-stop shop” of the world’s leading coronavirus research.

A team at The Institute of Cancer Research in London has adapted its existing system used to source data on cancer for the good of improving knowledge into Covid-19.

They say their fast-tracked development has the power to accelerate the search for promising new drug targets and treatments.

The online “knowledgebase”, which is updated weekly, pulls in data from various sources – such as the international Protein Databank.

“We are launching the initial phase of the world’s first one-stop shop for coronavirus research, designed to rapidly pull together data on Covid-19 as it becomes available,” said project leader Professor Bissan Al-Lazikani, head of data science at ICR London.

“It is more than just a database – it’s an intelligent system which visualises vast amounts of complex data in a way that is easy for researchers to understand and act upon, predicts which approaches to treatment are most likely to work, and objectively assesses the information emerging from clinical trials.”

The group has outlined its plans in a paper published online on the BioRxv preprint server.