MIT's AI Predicts New Strains of HIV, Coronavirus

With new coronavirus variants cropping up seemingly by the day, it's urgent that vaccines and public health efforts be able to stay ahead of the pandemic. Unfortunately, mutations are random, and it's usually impossible to predict what their impact will be when they do occur. The trouble, basically, is that we don't speak virus. "When you say a sentence, it's not just a random jumble of words," says Brian Hie, a doctoral student at MIT. There is structure that corresponds to grammar and other rules, he says.