Uploads from Quanta Magazine

Currently Playing: The Enigmatic Protein Folding Problem

Proteins are biological nano-machines that perform a vast array of vital functions inside of every living organism. For more than half a century, scientists have looked to solve the central mystery of protein science: How does a one-dimensional string of molecules fold innately and near-instantaneously into a complex three-dimensional shape? In 2020, Google DeepMind entered a deep-learning algorithm called AlphaFold2 into the Olympics of protein folding — and to everyone’s shock and surprise, ended up solving a key part of the puzzle. This breakthrough kick-started an AI revolution in biology research, clearing the path to revolutionary new techniques in protein design, which is the process of creating new and novel proteins that could solve some of the world's biggest problems. Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/cx7l9ZGFZkw Read the related article at: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-ai-revolutionized-protein-science-but-didnt-end-it-20240626/ #biology #science -------- - VISIT our website: https://www.quantamagazine.org - LIKE us on Facebook: / quantanews - FOLLOW us Twitter: / quantamagazine Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: https://www.simonsfoundation.org