Machine learning, a subset of artificial intelligence, has been making waves across various sectors, and biology is no exception. This unit aims to introduce the concept of machine learning and its application in the field of biology.
Machine learning is a method of data analysis that automates analytical model building. It is a branch of artificial intelligence based on the idea that systems can learn from data, identify patterns, and make decisions with minimal human intervention.
Machine learning has a wide range of applications in biology, thanks to the increasing availability of large and complex biological datasets. Here are a few examples:
Machine learning can be broadly classified into three types:
Supervised Learning: In supervised learning, the model is trained on a labeled dataset. That is, the correct answer (label) is provided for each example in the training data. The model learns to predict the label from the features of the example. Common tasks include regression (predicting a continuous value) and classification (predicting a discrete class).
Unsupervised Learning: In unsupervised learning, the model is trained on an unlabeled dataset. The model learns to extract useful features and patterns from the data. Common tasks include clustering (grouping similar examples) and dimensionality reduction (simplifying data without losing important features).
Reinforcement Learning: In reinforcement learning, an agent learns to perform actions in an environment to maximize a reward signal. This type of learning is used less frequently in biology but has potential in areas such as personalized medicine and adaptive experimental design.
In the next unit, we will delve into how Python can be used to implement these machine learning algorithms and apply them to biological data.