Recursion Pharmaceuticals is known for applying machine-learning to drug discovery. The company transitioned from using the cell painting technique to brightfield imaging, a centuries-old method, surprising many. Brightfield imaging is simple but lacks contrast, making it hard to observe details in cells. On the other hand, cell painting uses fluorescent dyes to enhance contrast, making cellular components stand out. Despite the promise of cell painting, it was abandoned in favor of raw images for better machine learning integration. This move highlights the evolution of ML methods and the importance of adapting to new technologies in scientific research.
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