Computational Biology

New tool makes gene regulation easier to study—and tweak

Leuven, 2 April 2026 - Understanding how genes are switched on and off in specific cell types remains one of biology’s central challenges. While AI has made major progress in decoding the regulatory logic of DNA, applying these approaches across datasets, tissues, and species has remained difficult. In a new Nature Methods paper, a research team led by Prof. Stein Aerts (VIB & KU Leuven) presents CREsted, a software package that enables both the analysis and design of gene regulatory elements in a systematic and scalable way.

Belgian researchers develop AI tool to improve diagnosis of rare immune disorders

Researchers from VIB and Ghent University, in close collaboration with clinicians at Ghent University Hospital, have developed PIDgeon, an explainable artificial intelligence pipeline that supports faster and more reliable diagnosis of primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs). The tool was successfully validated in nearly 1.000 patients across multiple European centers, marking an important step toward future clinical application. The study is published in Clinical Chemistry.

A new view on 300 million years of brain evolution

Scientists use deep learning to compare gene regulation in different cell types of human and chicken brains

New open-source platform for high-resolution spatial transcriptomics

From code to control: scientists use AI to craft synthetic DNA

AI assists in arthritis diagnosis based on MRI images 

A fully automated machine learning algorithm predicts bone marrow inflammation in MRI scans

VIB launches Data Core to support life sciences research

VIB's Data Core will enable breakthrough research by efficiently managing research data

All in the game: VIB-UGent researchers enlist virtual space explorers to improve disease diagnostics

By harnessing the power of thousands of gamers, the team of Prof. Lennart Martens (VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology), with colleagues of Dhaenes lab of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Ghent University, intends to improve the analysis of mass spectrometry data drastically. In turn, this may advance disease diagnostics.

The fruit fly: tiny research hero now fully mapped

A large international consortium creates the first complete atlas of all fly cells

VIB research team uses AI to explain cell diversity in the fly brain

Landmark fly brain study deciphers the genomic regulatory code behind neuronal diversity