...biomedical researchers have long wondered whether viruses contribute to the symptoms of several elusive conditions, such as chronic fatigue syndrome (also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis) and inflammatory bowel disease. Derya Unutmaz, an immunologist at the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine in Farmington, Connecticut, speculates that viruses might trigger a destructive inflammatory reaction — or they might modify the behaviour of bacteria in a person’s microbiome, which in turn could destabilize metabolism and the immune system.
With machine learning, Unutmaz says, researchers might identify viruses in patients that have remained hidden. Further, because AI has the ability to find patterns in massive data sets, he says, the approach might connect data on viruses to bacteria, and then to protein changes in people with symptoms. Says Unutmaz, “Machine learning could reveal knowledge we didn’t even think about."
In Summary: They're already looking at viruses in feces to see if healthy people have different viral, ah, "loads" than people with cirrhosis of the liver. Scientists wonder if viruses, either by infecting our bodies or our microbiomes, might contribute to IBD or (ME/)CFS.
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