An AI tool for predicting protein shapes could be transformative for medicine, but it challenges science’s need for proof
So being able to predict their 3D structures offers windows into the processes inside living things, including humans.
- So being able to predict their 3D structures offers windows into the processes inside living things, including humans.
- The first version of DeepMind’s AI tool was unveiled in 2018.
- In other words, how could anyone know whether what was predicted matched the real-life protein without experimental verification?
- However, AlphaFold2 was not designed to address something called the quaternary structure of proteins, where multiple protein subunits form a larger protein.
- And some researchers reported that it sometimes appeared to have difficulty predicting structural elements of proteins known as coils.
- If we can, its speed and accuracy could have a major effect on areas such as drug development.
- For the first time, with AlphaFold3, we may have cleared the most significant hurdle in the protein prediction revolution.