Researchers at Chalmers University have developed a closed AI laboratory that plans and evaluates experiments with baker’s yeast itself
01-Oct-2026
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed an AI scientist capable of generating scientific hypotheses, designing experiments, and interpreting results. Making new biological discoveries with minimal human intervention is an important advance in self-driving laboratories.
By combining advances in large language models, automated reasoning and laboratory automation, the researchers created a closed-loop AI laboratory, capable of conducting research on brewer’s yeast, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. As the basis of the research, the AI was input scientific knowledge, including the yeast’s genome, metabolism and previous studies.
“It is too much information for a human to analyse, but our AI scientist could identify promising biological questions, recommend experiments to test them, evaluate experimental outcomes and iteratively refine its understanding based on new evidence. Rather than serving solely as decision supporting tools, the AI scientist actively generates new scientific knowledge”, says Ievgeniia Tiukova, postdoctoral researcher at the department of Life Sciences at Chalmers University of Technology, and one of the authors of the new study.