AI helps scientific breakthroughs to bring new hope to 200 million people to avoid blindness – Passionategeekz –

[CNMO Technology News]Recently, “Robin”, an AI scientist system developed by FutureHouse research team, has made a major breakthrough in the field of medicine. Through efficient data analysis and experimental guidance, the system helped researchers find possible treatments for dry elderly macular lesions (dAMD) in just two and a half months. This disease is an eye degeneration problem faced by about 200 million people around the world, often leading to irreversible blindness.

The Robin system consists of multiple large language models (LLMs) and has three major modules with clear division of labor: Crow, Falcon and Owl are responsible for literature collection and hypothesis proposal, Phoenix designs chemical synthesis paths, and Finch is responsible for complex data analysis. The system initially analyzed 550 research papers on dAMD and proposed a potential therapeutic idea – enhancing the phagocytosis of retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) to clear cell remains that lead to blindness.

Subsequently, the Robin system screened out 10 candidate molecules that could enhance RPE function for laboratory testing. Data analysis module Finch finally found that a ROCK inhibitor named Y-27632 can significantly improve RPE phagocytosis in cellular experiments. Robin further recommends conducting RNA sequencing experiments to verify whether the drug can also promote cell metabolism at the genetic level.

Experimental results show that Y-27632 can upregulate a gene called ABCA1 to help cells excrete excess lipids. Based on these findings, Robin once again proposed a new drug screening list, including Ripasudil, a drug currently approved for the treatment of glaucoma. Tests found that Ripasudil can increase the RPE phagocytosis rate to 7.5 times, and is expected to become a new treatment for dAMD.

Although this finding still needs further clinical validation, it demonstrates the great potential of AI in scientific research. What is even more gratifying is that the Robin system has been open source, and more scientific research teams can use it to make faster progress in drug research and development and disease treatment in the future.

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