Surrey builds AI to find anti-ageing chemical compounds

ai
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The University of Surrey has built an artificial intelligence (AI) model that identifies chemical compounds that promote healthy aging—paving the way towards pharmaceutical innovations that extend a person's lifespan.

In a paper published by Scientific Reports, a team of chemists from Surrey built a machine learning model based on the information from the DrugAge database to predict whether a compound can extend the life of Caenorhabditis elegans—a translucent worm that shares a similar metabolism to humans. The worm's shorter lifespan gave the researchers the opportunity to see the impact of the .

The AI singled out three compounds that have an 80 percent chance of increasing the lifespan of elegans:

  • flavonoids (anti-oxidant pigments found in plants that promote cardiovascular health),
  • (such as omega 3), and
  • Organooxygens (compounds that contain carbon to oxygen bonds, such as alcohol).

Sofia Kapsiani, co-author of the study and final year undergraduate student at the University of Surrey, said:

"Aging is increasingly being recognized as a set of diseases in , and we can apply the tools of the digital world, such as AI, to help slow down or protect against aging and age-related diseases. Our study demonstrates the revolutionary ability of AI to aid the identification of compounds with anti-aging properties."

Dr. Brendan Howlin, lead author of the study and Senior Lecturer in Computational Chemistry at the University of Surrey, said:

"This research shows the power and potential of AI, which is a speciality of the University of Surrey, to drive significant benefits in human health."

More information: Sofia Kapsiani et al, Random forest classification for predicting lifespan-extending chemical compounds, Scientific Reports (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93070-6

Journal information: Scientific Reports

Citation: Surrey builds AI to find anti-ageing chemical compounds (2021, July 22) retrieved 19 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2021-07-surrey-ai-anti-ageing-chemical-compounds.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

New tools aid hunt for life-extending chemicals

171 shares

Feedback to editors