Chinese-developed AI system revolutionizes industrial fermentation process

An artificial intelligence (AI)-empowered monitoring system developed by a team of Chinese researchers has been put into operation in biomanufacturing companies, with the potential to optimize processes, predict outcomes, and propel life science towards a new era of efficiency.

The AI system, developed by a research team at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), is used in industrial fermentation. It can accurately predict and control the fermentation process, promoting the transformation of the biological fermentation industry from experience-driven to data-driven.

Time is a critical factor in fermentation, one of the core technologies of biomanufacturing, as microorganisms vary greatly at different growth stages, and their growth directly determines the success or failure of the fermentation process.

In the past, in order to ensure the quality of fermentation, engineers needed to monitor production lines in three shifts 24 hours a day.

In an AI-assisted fermentation workshop, hundreds of sensors are mounted on key equipment such as fermentation tanks, to monitor in real time hundreds of important parameters such as microorganism growth status and oxygen levels in the tanks.

The AI model will analyze the data, to ensure that the fermentation process is always in the best state.

In addition, the AI technology can draw up plans in advance.

For example, the antibiotic fermentation cycle is seven days. When the fermentation reaches the 20th hour, the AI tech can generate a complete fermentation operation plan from the 21st hour to the remaining 150 hours, making predictions about the entire process.

"It serves as an 'intelligent brain' and can make predictions about production process. Based on predictions about the production process, it can generate the best process plan in real time, so as to greatly increase production," said Li Jinjin, director of the artificial intelligence and micro structure laboratory (AIMS-Lab) at SJTU.

Chinese-developed AI system revolutionizes industrial fermentation process

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has risen to 676, including 136 deaths, as health authorities warned of continued community transmission and the risk of a sudden geographic expansion of the outbreak.

According to the latest situation report released on Thursday by the DRC's health authorities, 41 new confirmed cases, including nine deaths, were reported on Wednesday in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, has so far affected 29 health zones across three eastern provinces: Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.

The latest official assessment said confirmed cases have been increasing from week to week, indicating continued community transmission. It warned that a sudden geographic expansion of the outbreak is feared if public health measures are not implemented quickly.

Health authorities also said 5,768 contacts were under follow-up across the three affected provinces, with a follow-up rate of 71.8 percent. The report listed weak contact tracing as one of the main challenges, saying the current rate remains below the 95-percent target and could compromise efforts to interrupt transmission chains.

Two Ebola patients in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province, were declared recovered, bringing the cumulative number of recoveries to 32, the report said.

The current Ebola outbreak in the DRC, the country's 17th since the disease was first identified in 1976, was officially declared on May 15. The affected provinces, with a combined population of nearly 15 million, are marked by large-scale internal displacement and cross-border population movements toward neighboring countries, according to the report.

Ebola cases in DR Congo rise to 676 amid community transmission