Researchers at the Salk Institute developed ShortStop, an advanced machine learning framework to identify elusive microproteins encoded by rarely studied regions of the genome, challenging the outdated notion of ‘junk DNA.’ This computational tool predicts biologically relevant microproteins, facilitating discovery in health and disease contexts such as lung cancer. Complementary studies highlight AI’s transformative role in detecting genetic elements and metabolic regulators, showcasing artificial intelligence’s growing impact on genomics and precision medicine.