--- title: Large genome models used to design new viruses | daily.dev description: Researchers at Stanford University have used large genome models — AI systems trained on DNA sequences rather than text — to generate functional viral genomes.... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/large-genome-models-used-to-design-new-viruses-kxg7r6t7j twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Large genome models used to design new viruses | daily.dev og:description: Researchers at Stanford University have used large genome models — AI systems trained on DNA sequences rather than text — to generate functional viral genomes.... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/large-genome-models-used-to-design-new-viruses-kxg7r6t7j og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/KXG7r6T7J.png og:image:alt: Large genome models used to design new viruses og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Large genome models used to design new viruses **[Ars Technica](https://daily.dev/sources/arstechnica)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Researchers at Stanford University have used large genome models — AI systems trained on DNA sequences rather than text — to generate functional viral genomes. The AI-designed viruses are closely related to existing bacteriophages but exhibit distinct genetic features that would be difficult to achieve through natural evolution. The work raises biosecurity concerns, with the researchers suggesting the field should proactively consider the risk of similar AI systems being used to design viruses targeting vertebrates. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What are large genome models and how do they differ from large language models? Large genome models apply the same next-token prediction training approach as large language models, but use DNA sequences instead of text. DNA uses only four letters (A, T, C, G), which simplifies the alphabet, but the biological context of each position varies enormously — some positions are highly constrained while others are nearly arbitrary — making the task non-trivial. Fed enough genome sequences, these models learn to output biologically coherent DNA. _Researchers tracking AI applications in genomics and biosecurity follow developments like these on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Schneier on Security](https://daily.dev/posts/schneier-on-security-jtrwyfs3w) · Schneier on Security · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [AI trained on bacterial genomes produces never-before-seen proteins](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-trained-on-bacterial-genomes-produces-never-before-seen-proteins-ltjcbudlu) · Ars Technica · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#genai](https://daily.dev/tags/genai), [#biotech](https://daily.dev/tags/biotech) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/large-genome-models-used-to-design-new-viruses-kxg7r6t7j) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Large genome models used to design new viruses","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/large-genome-models-used-to-design-new-viruses-kxg7r6t7j","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/large-genome-models-used-to-design-new-viruses-kxg7r6t7j"},"datePublished":"2026-08-06T20:37:28.955Z","dateModified":"2026-08-13T02:15:22.453Z","description":"Researchers at Stanford University have used large genome models — AI systems trained on DNA sequences rather than text — to generate functional viral genomes....","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/109ca9b358f45355c5617696d889d251?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/109ca9b358f45355c5617696d889d251?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Ars Technica","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Ars Technica","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/80883e0e48a34b5ebcf93777016cb3fe","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/arstechnica"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/large-genome-models-used-to-design-new-viruses-kxg7r6t7j","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"genai,biotech","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ars Technica","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/arstechnica"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Large genome models used to design new viruses"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/large-genome-models-used-to-design-new-viruses-kxg7r6t7j#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What are large genome models and how do they differ from large language models?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Large genome models apply the same next-token prediction training approach as large language models, but use DNA sequences instead of text. DNA uses only four letters (A, T, C, G), which simplifies the alphabet, but the biological context of each position varies enormously — some positions are highly constrained while others are nearly arbitrary — making the task non-trivial. Fed enough genome sequences, these models learn to output biologically coherent DNA. Researchers tracking AI applications in genomics and biosecurity follow developments like these on daily.dev."}}]} ```