The Point: Calico Life Sciences uses AI-powered tools to develop new hypotheses in aging research. A key focus is on the integrated stress response and its regulation through metabolism – with promising experimental results.
At Calico Life Sciences, researchers use AI-powered tools to connect fragmented biological insights and develop new, testable hypotheses about the processes of aging. A promising approach could reveal the role of metabolism in regulating protective mechanisms in cells.
Few medical challenges are as complex and consequential as aging. The diverse biological processes of aging fundamentally determine how long people can live in good health. At Calico Life Sciences, AI and Machine Learning Lead Matt Onsum and Principal Scientist Katherine Labbé are using an AI tool called Co-Scientist to connect fragmented insights from aging research and develop testable hypotheses from them.
This is a challenging task, as scientific literature is full of insights of varying quality, dead ends, and non-reproducible results. Onsum emphasizes that Co-Scientist has impressed the experts at Calico through its scientific discernment – it helps cut through the noise and identify genuine research ideas.
A concrete example comes from Calico’s work on the integrated stress response (ISR), a cellular protection mechanism that, when chronically activated, can also lead to disease. Using Co-Scientist, the team developed a novel and plausible hypothesis about how the ISR is regulated by metabolism – a factor that changes with age and in various diseases. The researchers worked interactively with Co-Scientist to refine the experimental design and integrate new findings. The experiments conducted led to new insights with important implications for the role of ISR in health and disease. The results are expected to be published.