If you look at a photograph of leopards, would you be able to tell which two were related based on their spots?<\/p>\n

Unless you\u2019re a leopard expert, the answer is most likely not, says Tanya Berger-Wolf, director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute (TDAI) at Ohio State University. But, she says, computers can.<\/p>\n

Berger-Wolf and her team are pioneering a new field of study called imageomics. As the name suggests, imageomics uses machine learning to extract biological data from photos and videos of living organisms. Berger-Wolf and her team have recently begun collaborating with researchers studying leopards in India to compare spot patterns of moms and children using algorithms. <\/p>\n