I get really tired of people who think AI isn't real science or is just for toys. I also get tired of the AI researchers who work on fluff that perpetuates the stereotypes. Here's an example of AI being used to help "real" scientists. I offer a small caveat, however. I really think AI, as a field of study, should be subdivided. As it is, the term is too broad and lumps too many people of unrelated research together. I also think Computer Science is an abused term. I offer the following taxonomy.

• Computer Science
• Computational Mathematics
• Algorithms
• Heuristics (formerly part of Weak AI)
• Software Engineering
• Programming Languages
• Systems Design
• Application Design
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computational Cognitive Science (Strong AI)
• Architectural
• Phenomenological
• Intelligent Systems (Weak AI)

Without further ado, here's the article, which I would classify as an intelligent system:

A Map That Maps Gene Functions
By Kristen Philipkoski

"The genetics revolution is generating such a gigantic glut of information that artificial intelligence may be the only way scientists will ever put it to practical use."

"Inspired by an AI effort to record all of the common-sense knowledge shared among humans called Cyc, scientists have come up with a technology that can gather all of the information scientists know about an organism."