AI that reads 70 million cells just mapped what hundreds of genes actually do

Researchers at LMU Munich, the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, and Helmholtz Munich built SPARCS — a system that pairs artificial intelligence with microscopy and genetic screening to link genes to what cells look like and how they behave. In a first genome-wide test, published in the journal Cell, the AI analyzed microscopy images of 70 million cells and uncovered new genes involved in autophagy, the cell's recycling process, plus fresh clues about STING, a key sensor of the immune system.