Calico Life Sciences is using Google DeepMind's Co-Scientist to tackle one of biology's thorniest problems: aging. Head of AI/ML Matt Onsum and principal scientist Katherine Labbé deployed the tool to connect scattered findings across the biology of aging and turn them into testable hypotheses. The work matters because aging involves overlapping biological processes that determine how long people live in good health.

The scientific literature around aging is notoriously messy. Mixed-quality findings, dead ends, and irreproducible results abound. Onsum says Co-Scientist impressed Calico's own experts with its scientific discernment, helping cut through noise to surface ideas genuinely worth exploring rather than chasing tangents.

One concrete example emerged from work on the integrated stress response, a protective cellular mechanism that can contribute to disease when persistently activated. The Calico team used Co-Scientist to generate a novel hypothesis linking ISR regulation to metabolism, which shifts with age and disease.

Researchers iterated with Co-Scientist to refine experimental design as new results emerged. The work produced new findings with implications for ISR's role in health and disease, and the team plans to publish the results.