Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have developed a new DNA-sequencing method that is much cheaper than those currently in use in laboratories. They hope that this new method will make it possible to map disease genes in large patient groups, which in turn can mean quicker breakthroughs for new treatments for a wide variety of diseases.

Scientists at Duke University have created the first map of imprinted genes throughout the human genome, and they say a modern-day Rosetta stone – a form of artificial intelligence called machine learning – was the key to their success.

Biologists still have no clear idea how many active genes there are coding for proteins in humans and other organisms, even though for some species the genomes have been completely sequenced. This is because many of the genes and their protein products have only been predicted by computer algorithms that are at this time imperfect.

More powerful computers are allowing scientists and engineers to conduct simulations that grow more realistic each year. While companies are using these tools to slash the costs of producing everything from airliners to antibiotics, researchers in Houston are using them to refine their search for the genetic causes of disease.