A research team from, among others, Lund University has developed an AI tool that can identify the origin of microorganisms. This can, for example, involve tracing bacteria from a water area, a country or a city.
"By being able to track where your microorganisms have recently been, we can understand disease spread, identify potential sources of infection and locate the emergence of microbial resistance. But also get forensic keys that can be used in criminal investigations," says biologist Eran Elhaik, active at Lund University and leader of the research team, in a press release.
A study on the AI tool has been published in the journal "Genome biology and evolution". Part of the study was conducted with 4,135 samples from public transportation in 53 cities. In that context, the research team predicted the city of origin in 92 percent of the cases, using the AI tool.
In addition to Lund University, researchers from Sheffield University in the UK and Marine Biological Laboratory in the USA have participated in the study.
