An artificial intelligence algorithm can determine non-invasively, with about 70 percent accuracy, if an in vitro fertilized embryo has a normal or abnormal number of chromosomes, according to a new study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. Having an abnormal number of chromosomes, a condition called aneuploidy, is a major reason embryos derived from in vitro fertilization (IVF) fail to implant or result in a healthy pregnancy. One of the current methods for detecting aneuploidy involves the biopsy-like sampling and genetic testing of cells from an embryo--an approach that adds cost to the IVF process and is invasive to the embryo. The new algorithm, STORK-A, described in a paper published Dec. 19 in Lancet Digital Health, can help predict aneuploidy without the disadvantages of biopsy. It operates by analyzing microscope images of the embryo and incorporates information about maternal age and the IVF clinic's scoring of the embryo's appearance.

Extra copies of normally paired chromosomes. Variations in chromosome color show where DNA has become rearranged and duplicated within and between chromosomes. A cancer genome can be insanely complicated, making the disease difficult to study and treat. Large chunks of DNA -- including millions of base pairs or even whole chromosomes -- can get yanked from their original locations and moved elsewhere, duplicated or even flipped. But an algorithm, named Weaver, developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, may offer new ways to break down some of that complexity.