Headline News

On this page, you’ll find the latest news from b-it. We regularly post updates here on research, teaching, projects, events, and the diverse academic life at the Center. Our goal is to provide you with a concise overview of important developments, activities, and special events. This way, you’ll always stay up to date on what’s happening at b-it.

© Three-dimensional structures of two target proteins, - histone deacetylase 6 (blue) and tyrosine-protein kinase JAK2 (red), together with a selective inhibitor of each enzyme. The dual inhibitor in the center is active against both targets. The prediction of compounds with predefined dual-target activity is the task of the chemical language model. © Figure: Sanjana Srinivasan & Jürgen Bajorath

Large language models for drug discovery

New study conducted by Prof. Dr. Bajorath and Sanjana Srinivasan at b-it and the Lamarr-Institute at the University of Bonn show the potential of language models in finding new medications. The researchers have created a chemical language model comparable to ChatGPT to predict potential active ingredients with special properties. Following a training phase, the AI was able to exactly reproduce the chemical structures of compounds with known dual-target activity that may be particularly effective medications.

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© © Burton, J. W., et al. (2024)

How large language models affect social collaboration and why we need to shape it

New study conducted by Prof. Dr. Bajorath and Sanjana Srinivasan at b-it and the Lamarr-Institute at the University of Bonn show the potential of language models in finding new medications. The researchers have created a chemical language model comparable to ChatGPT to predict potential active ingredients with special properties. Following a training phase, the AI was able to exactly reproduce the chemical structures of compounds with known dual-target activity that may be particularly effective medications.

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© b-it

OUR PAPERS ON ACL24

The past decade of AI was largely driven by one question: how to make large language models work at all. How to scale them, stabilize them, and push their capabilities far enough to be usable.

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© annik P. Roth & Jürgen Bajorath

New Publication in Life Sciences: predicting the effect of a drug

New study conducted by Prof. Dr. Bajorath and Sanjana Srinivasan at b-it and the Lamarr-Institute at the University of Bonn show the potential of language models in finding new medications. The researchers have created a chemical language model comparable to ChatGPT to predict potential active ingredients with special properties. Following a training phase, the AI was able to exactly reproduce the chemical structures of compounds with known dual-target activity that may be particularly effective medications.

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© b-it

Prof. Bajorath and his team take a look behind the scenes of machine learning in drug research

Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the rise. Until now, AI applications generally have “black box” character: How AI arrives at its results remains hidden. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bajorath, a cheminformatics scientist at b-it, and his team have developed a method that reveals how certain AI applications work in pharmaceutical research. The results are unexpected: the AI programs largely remembered known data and hardly learned specific chemical interactions when predicting drug potency. The results have now been published in “Nature Machine Intelligence”.

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© b-it

The b-it – Twenty years of academic teaching and research with an international reputation

The Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (b-it) celebrated its twentieth anniversary these days. Since 2002, it has uniquely combined excellence in research with internationally renowned teaching in three master’s degree programs in computer science. Thus, the b-it qualifies students from all over the world for future-oriented professional fields in the areas of life sciences, media informatics and autonomous systems. With the support of the federal and state governments, an institution with a worldwide reputation has emerged over the past 20 years, which at the same time has an impact on the region with innovative research results and highly qualified graduates.

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© Fraunhofer IAIS / Dirk Baumbach

Grand Opening of the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

In the presence of NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst MdL and NRW Minister of Science Ina Brandes as well as leading actors from business and science, the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence was officially opened on September 29, 2022. The leading research institute shapes a new generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is high-performing, sustainable, trustworthy and secure in helping to solve key challenges in industry and society. The Lamarr Institute is one of five university-based AI centers of excellence nationwide that have been receiving permanent funding as of this summer as part of the German government’s AI strategy.

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© Fabian Hammerl

Honored: Prof. Dr. Stefan Wrobel is honored as GI Fellow by the Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V.

The Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI) has appointed three scientists as “GI Fellows” – among them Prof. Dr. Stefan Wrobel, Director of the Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (b-it)  and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Bonn. With this award, the GI honors personalities who have rendered outstanding contributions to computer science. Stefan Wrobel particularly impressed the jury with his fundamental scientific contributions as well as his transfer work for applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

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M.Sc.
Daria Tomala

Press and public relations
Press Relations / editorial office

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Maximilian Waidhas

Press and public relations 
Communication Design / editorial office

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Viktoria Hytrek

Press and public relations 
research assistant