AI is entering its John Hammond era.
AI can be used to translate languages in real time, break down essays into their finest parts, and analyse patterns in massive datasets.
Now it can translate and analyse a whole new type of code, one that is written in every living thing.
It can now read and write DNA.
Evo 2 is a brand new AI model capable of reading, analysing and even generating DNA sequences across almost every major branch of life.
From bacteria to plants to animals, this particular model is one of the biggest leaps yet towards using AI to decode the biological blueprint of life on Earth.
The Arc Institute, Stanford University and NVIDIA developed Evo 2 by training it on nearly nine trillion DNA base pairs.
That massive dataset allowed it to identify genetic patterns across entire genomes rather than individual genes, giving scientists a far broader picture of how DNA works.
But how does it fare against other models in the field?
One unique feature is that Evo 2 can predict whether certain genetic mutations are likely to be harmful.
This means it can detect harmful mutations like BRCA1, which is commonly associated with breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
Evo 2 can also generate entirely new DNA sequences that closely resemble real biological genomes.
During testing, researchers used the model to create realistic bacterial and yeast DNA, while also designing sequences with specific gene-regulating properties that were successfully replicated in both mouse and human cells.
While the AI is far from designing entirely new life forms, “Its ability to connect genetic patterns across species could support future research in disease, evolution, and synthetic biology”, according to Guang-Guo Ying, a researcher from South China Normal University.
There’s no telling what Evo 2 could lead to, especially since it’s fully open source, but researchers strongly advise that any AI-generated genomes still require rigorous laboratory testing before they can be used in the real world.
Hopefully, researchers have their own Ian Malcolm to direct this new horizon ethically.
