Genetics is a field rich in numbers and patterns, reaching back to Gregor Mendel's crosses of pea plants with distinguishing characteristics that revealed the two basic laws of inheritance.
At a microscopic level, genetics is informational, a series of languages: a DNA sequence is transcribed into an RNA sequence, which is then translated into a sequence of amino acids comprising a protein molecule. The suite of proteins, with abundances ebbing and flowing as patterns of gene expression change in response to the environment, provides our traits, our abilities, and the myriad metabolic reactions that keep us going.
Because genetics is so highly informational, it is a natural target for artificial intelligence. AI can speed, enhance, and extend what we know about the meanings in our genes, transcending what we deduce from far simpler data. It digests (trains on) massive amounts of data, stores and analyzes them, then makes connections and provides insights beyond what a human mind could do.
A Very Brief History of AI
To continue reading, go to DNA Science, where this post first appeared.