Nature Genetics published a paper by CS PhD student Brad Gulko, Cornellians Melissa J. Hubisz and Ilan Gronau, and CS field member Adam Siepel on a new computation method that helps identify functional DNA. The proposed model can be thought of as belonging to a class of nonparametric generative models, selecting a relatively low dimensional covariate space. In addition to being a competitive or superior predictor, says Gulko, "Our method allows other scientists not only to use the results, but to readily understand them.”
The paper was highlighted on the Nature Genetics homepage.
