50 years of biology problems solved thanks to artificial intelligence



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Experts from the London-based artificial intelligence lab have announced that one of the biggest problems in biology that hasn’t been solved in 50 years has been solved with artificial intelligence.

The question of “How a protein folds into a unique three-dimensional shape”, which is considered one of the biggest problems in biology and has long been unanswered by scientists, has been solved thanks to artificial intelligence.

As a result of the work of experts from the London-based artificial intelligence laboratory “DeepMind”, this development will play an important role in the development of new drugs for the treatment of many diseases, including coronavirus.

Developed in 2018 to assist DeepMind’s protein research, the AlphaFold tool was trained with a database of approximately 170,000 protein structures. With a score of 92.4% in scientific tests of protein structures, AlphaFold was able to present the clearest data on the problem of “folding” in proteins that malfunctioned and whose structures could not be discovered.

As a result of the researchers’ work, it has been established that the programs determine the shape of proteins with an accuracy close to expensive and time-consuming laboratory methods.

“Has the potential to revolutionize the life sciences”

One of the firm’s referee members, Dr. Andriy Kryshtafovich described the success as “truly remarkable” and “Being able to examine the shape of proteins quickly and accurately has the potential to revolutionize the life sciences.” used expressions.

“Even working on one can take many years”

Another name that touches on the importance of working on proteins, the chairman of the study’s arbitration board, Dr. John Moult, “Even small interventions with these vital molecules can have catastrophic effects on our health, so one of the most effective ways to understand the disease and find new treatments is to study the proteins involved. There are billions of proteins in other species, including bacteria and viruses, but only one is on its form. to work is quite expensive and can take many years “ She said.

‘We can help take action on health problems’

Professor Andrew Martin of University College London (UCL) told BBC News:

“By knowing the three-dimensional structures of proteins, we can help design drugs and address health problems, be they infections or hereditary diseases.”

The teacher. Dame Janet Thornton of the European Institute of Bioinformatics said that the “folding of proteins to create” unique and elegant three-dimensional structures “is” one of the greatest mysteries of biology “. “A better understanding of protein structures and the ability to predict them using a computer means a better understanding of life, evolution and, of course, human health and disease.” commented with expressions.

What will happen next?

While there are still serious loopholes, including learning how multiple proteins fit together and how proteins interact with other molecules like DNA and RNA, Dr. Kryshtafovich this state ‘As the problem of individual proteins has been solved to a large extent, it has paved the way for the development of new methods for determining the shape of the proteins that make up the bulk of the vital mechanism. commented with expressions.

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