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Microsoft makes splash in AI-enabled lab solutions
Microsoft unveils the first collaborations for its Station B, a platform to automate lab experiments so scientists can test and reproduce ever-more-complex designs.
Microsoft is parlaying its machine-learning expertise into a new integrated platform for working with biological systems, and to refine it, the tech giant is partnering with a Princeton University researcher and UK-based companies Oxford Biomedica and Synthace. The platform, dubbed Station B and unveiled in March, aims to improve how life scientists go about conducting their research. It enables them first to model new biomolecules and organisms in silico, then test their designs in wet-lab experiments and finally analyze the results using machine-learning algorithms. To achieve this, the platform combines Microsoft Azure’s cloud infrastructure and algorithms with Synthace’s automated platform for biological experiments. For real-world testing, Microsoft has brought in one commercial enterprise, Oxford Biomedica, which will apply the platform to its gene-manufacturing processes, and one academic, Princeton University molecular biologist Bonnie Bassler, who will use Station B to gain insights into bacterial biofilms. Station B, and other solutions combining laboratory information management systems (LIMS) for uploading research data with cloud-based services for search, analysis, and discovery, promise to not only enhance reproducibility but also provide time and budgetary savings for researchers in both academia and industry.