Danish food institute rolls out AI tool to prevent pandemics

Danish food institute rolls out AI tool to prevent pandemics
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Scientists at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark have developed a new artificial intelligence tool called PathogenFinder2 that can assess whether previously unknown bacteria may be capable of causing disease, potentially aiding early detection of bacterial threats before outbreaks occur, researchers say. The tool was reported in science and tech news outlets worldwide following coverage by Danish broadcaster DR.

According to DTU researchers, the system can analyze genetic data from sources such as wastewater, and samples from healthy people and animals, identifying risky bacteria ahead of infections and giving public health authorities time to develop tests, vaccines, or treatments earlier than current laboratory approaches allow.

The research was published in the journal Bioinformatics and is part of the broader Global Pathogen Analysis Platform (GPAP), with the service made publicly available online at no cost.

Researchers say PathogenFinder2 goes beyond simply flagging known threats by highlighting specific proteins that most influence its predictions, including known virulence factors and previously uncharacterized proteins that could reveal new mechanisms of disease.