PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers take new AI approach to analyze tumors

2023-11-13
(Press-News.org) Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab in Sweden have combined artificial intelligence (AI) techniques used in satellite imaging and community ecology to interpret large amounts of data from tumour tissue. The method, presented in the journal Nature Communications, could contribute to more personalised treatment of cancer patients.

While recent advances in tumour imaging provide a great insight into the microscopic world of tumours, the challenge is to interpret the huge amount of data generated. With hundreds of molecules being measured simultaneously in tens or hundreds of thousands of cells, it has become difficult for researchers to know what molecules and cells to focus on.

AI methods can in principle help researchers analyse this avalanche of data and determine what to focus on. However, traditional AI such as deep neural networks often performs tasks without providing clear explanations that are understandable to humans. Details of how the process works are hidden or difficult to access in a so-called black box. The research team at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab recognised the limitations of such methods and sought inspiration from other fields. They identified well-established analysis techniques in satellite imaging and ecology dating back to the 2000s and 1950s, respectively.

Similar to interpreting satellite images

New AI methods are continuously developed to interpret data from satellite images, for example to automatically identify cities, lakes, forests and deserts within large satellite images. In ecology, advanced techniques are used to reveal how species of plants, animals and micro-organisms cohabit as communities within a given geographical area.

“We realised that the interpretation of tumour images is similar to the interpretation of satellite images and that the relationships between cells in a tissue are similar to the relationships between species in ecology,” explains Jean Hausser, senior researcher at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, who led the research. “By combining techniques used in satellite imaging and ecology and adapting them for the analysis of tumour tissue, we have now been able to turn complex data into new insights into how cancer works.”

Tailor cancer treatments

The next step is to apply the new method in clinical trials. The researchers are collaborating with a major cancer hospital in Lyon, France, to seek answers to why only some patients respond to cancer immunotherapy. In another collaboration with the Mayo Clinic in the US, they are investigating why some breast cancer patients don’t need chemotherapy.

“With our new method, we can reveal important details in tumour tissue that can determine whether a cancer treatment works or not. The long-term goal is to be able to tailor cancer treatments to individual needs and avoid unnecessary side effects,” says Jean Hausser.

The research was mainly funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, the Swedish Research Council and SciLifeLab. There are no reported conflicts of interest.

Publication: “NIPMAP: niche-phenotype mapping of multiplex histology data by community ecology”, Anissa El Marrahi, Fabio Lipreri, Ziqi Kang, Louise Gsell, Alper Eroglu, David Alber, Jean Hausser, Nature Communications, online 7 November 2023, doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-42878-z.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Diverse forests hold huge carbon-storage potential, as long as we cut emissions, study shows

2023-11-13
  Media kit New research suggests that a realistic estimate of additional global forest carbon-storage potential is approximately 226 gigatonnes of carbon—enough to make a meaningful contribution to slowing climate change.   The study, published today in the journal Nature, highlights the critical importance of forest conservation, restoration and sustainable management in moving toward international climate and biodiversity targets. It involved hundreds of scientists around the world, who stress that this potential can be achieved by incentivizing community-driven efforts to promote biodiversity.   Forest ...

New discovery on how green algae count cell divisions illuminates key step needed for the evolution of multicellular life

2023-11-13
ST. LOUIS, MO, November 13, 2023 — An international research team led by James Umen, PhD, member, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center has made an unexpected discovery of a biased counting mechanism used by the single-celled green alga Chlamydomonas to control cell division. Chlamydomonas cells can grow very large and then divide multiple times in succession. The team found that the number of divisions a mother cell undertakes to restore its daughters to the correct starting size deviates from the mathematical optimum that was assumed to dictate ...

French and U.S. science agencies take first step to collaborate on electron-ion collider (EIC)

French and U.S. science agencies take first step to collaborate on electron-ion collider (EIC)
2023-11-13
PARIS, NOV. 13—Representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have signed a “Statement of Interest” to launch what both agencies hope will be a significant collaboration on the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The EIC, being built in the U.S. at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in partnership with DOE’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab), will be a unique facility for exploring the building blocks of matter and the strongest force in nature. The agreement continues a long history of cooperation in scientific ...

Study finds people with inflammatory arthritis face significant psychological challenges in maintaining employment

2023-11-13
SAN DIEGO, CA, NOVEMBER 13, 2023 — Research from Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) reveals a significant psychological impact related to inflammatory arthritis patients’ efforts to maintain employment while coping with the challenges of their illness. The study, titled “The Psychological Experience of Work for People with Inflammatory Arthritis (IA),” was presented at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2023 on November 13 in San Diego. “A large body of research indicates that people with inflammatory arthritis are at increased risk for work disability, which can profoundly affect their lives. ...

How marine bristle worms use a special protein to distinguish between sunlight and moonlight

How marine bristle worms use a special protein to distinguish between sunlight and moonlight
2023-11-13
In a recent publication in Nature Communications, a joint research team of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the University of Cologne, and the University of Oldenburg has presented their findings on the functioning of an atypical cryptochrome protein (Cry). These proteins are found in a variety of organisms, and they are often involved in light-controlled biological processes. The marine bristle worm Platynereis dumerilii, for example, employs a special Cry protein designated L-Cry to distinguish between sunlight and moonlight as well as between different moon phases. This is essential for the worms ...

Artificial intelligence: Unexpected results

Artificial intelligence: Unexpected results
2023-11-13
Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the rise. Until now, AI applications generally have “black box” character: How AI arrives at its results remains hidden. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bajorath, a cheminformatics scientist at the University of Bonn, and his team have developed a method that reveals how certain AI applications work in pharmaceutical research. The results are unexpected: the AI programs largely remembered known data and hardly learned specific chemical interactions when predicting drug potency. The results have now been published in Nature Machine Intelligence. Which drug molecule is most effective? Researchers are feverishly ...

Migrant couples have better relationships when they can balance old and new cultures

Migrant couples have better relationships when they can balance old and new cultures
2023-11-13
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Migrant couples who can effectively balance the culture of their homeland while adapting to the dominant culture of their new home are more likely to have a better relationship, according to newly published research from psychologists at Binghamton University, State University of New York.  “When immigrants venture into a new country, they embark on a journey of blending cultures while keeping their roots alive,“ said Binghamton University PhD candidate Quinn Hendershot. “There has been limited research on how their ability to adjust to a new culture while embracing the cultures of their homeland can affect the relationship.” Hendershot ...

Worcester Polytechnic Institute researcher leads project to develop oxygen sensor for premature infants of color

Worcester Polytechnic Institute researcher leads project to develop oxygen sensor for premature infants of color
2023-11-13
– The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $1.1 million to a team led by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher Ulkuhan Guler to develop a first-of-its-kind wearable sensor for premature infants that will address racial bias in healthcare by monitoring oxygen levels two different ways and correcting the measurements to account for variations in skin color. The four-year project will create a convenient, affordable, noninvasive sensor about the size of a bandage that will enable infants at risk of lung disease to leave hospitals sooner and be accurately monitored at home, said Guler, an associate professor in the Department ...

Fluorine catch-and-attach process could boost drug efficiency

Fluorine catch-and-attach process could boost drug efficiency
2023-11-13
HOUSTON – (Nov.13, 2023) – When it comes to chemical reactions, fluorine has a reputation as a ‘magic bullet atom’ for its ability to increase a drug’s absorption and prolong its lifetime. However, traditional methods of adding it to compounds entail expensive materials and can be difficult to pull off. Rice University scientists developed a reliable and cost-effective process of adding fluorine to molecules for increased pharmaceutical drug efficiency using an iron and ...

New assay could revolutionize detection and treatment of acute myeloid leukemia

2023-11-13
Philadelphia, November 13, 2023 – A novel assay that detects a unique molecular marker in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may revolutionize the way this disease is detected and treated according to a new report in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics published by Elsevier. This assay may improve detection of AML driven by KMT2A gene fusions and may affect treatment decision-making, assessing response to therapy, and long-term surveillance. AML is a rare, aggressive blood cancer diagnosed in around 120,000 individuals worldwide each year. Detecting residual disease during treatment is essential for determining prognosis and ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Fat may play an important role in brain metabolism

New study finds no lasting impact of pandemic pet ownership on human well-being

New insights on genetic damage of some chemotherapies could guide future treatments with less harmful side effects

Gut microbes could protect us from toxic ‘forever chemicals’

Novel modelling links sea ice loss to Antarctic ice shelf calving events

Scientists can tell how fast you're aging from a single brain scan

U.S. uterine cancer incidence and mortality rates expected to significantly increase by 2050

Public take the lead in discovery of new exploding star

What are they vaping? Study reveals alarming surge in adolescent vaping of THC, CBD, and synthetic cannabinoids

ECMWF - delivering forecasts over 10 times faster and cutting energy usage by 1000

Brazilian neuroscientist reveals how viral infections transform the brain through microscopic detective work

Turning social fragmentation into action through discovering relatedness

Cheese may really be giving you nightmares, scientists find

Study reveals most common medical emergencies in schools

Breathable yet protective: Next-gen medical textiles with micro/nano networks

Frequency-engineered MXene supercapacitors enable efficient pulse charging in TENG–SC hybrid systems

Developed an AI-based classification system for facial pigmented lesions

Achieving 20% efficiency in halogen-free organic solar cells via isomeric additive-mediated sequential processing

New book Terraglossia reclaims language, Country and culture

The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet

Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy

Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab

Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy

Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues

New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children

Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer

It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections

From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine

Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023

[Press-News.org] Researchers take new AI approach to analyze tumors