How A.I. Is Revolutionizing Drug Development

In high-tech labs, workers are generating data to train A.I. algorithms to design better medicine, faster. But the transformation is just getting underway.Chips in a container at Terray Therapeutics in Monrovia, Calif. Each of the custom-made chips has millions of minuscule wells for measuring drug screening reactions quickly and accurately.The laboratory at Terray Therapeutics is a symphony of miniaturized automation. Robots whir, shuttling tiny tubes of fluids to their stations. Scientists in blue coats, sterile gloves and protective glasses monitor the machines.But the real action is happening at nanoscale: Proteins in solution combine with chemical molecules held in minuscule wells in custom silicon chips that are like microscopic muffin tins. Every interaction is recorded, millions and millions each day, generating 50 terabytes of raw data daily — the equivalent of more than 12,000 movies.The lab, about two-thirds the size of a football field, is a data factory for artificial-intelligence-assisted drug discovery and development in Monrovia, Calif. It’s part of a wave of young companies and start-ups trying to harness A.I. to produce more effective drugs, faster.Scientists and technicians guide the work and monitor the machines in Terray’s highly automated labs.A Terray chip, with 32 million micro-wells, each well serving as a reaction site for high-speed biochemical screening.A research and development lab where Terray scientists create the recipes for the chemical molecules to be tested and refined. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

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