From targeting tumors to tackling pollution: The impact of AI-designed proteins across modern industries

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to researchers behind AI tools that are working with protein design. John Jumper and Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind were recognized for their work on AlphaFold, a program that predicts a protein’s 3D structure from its amino acid sequence. This has solved the long-standing challenge of predicting protein shapes, which is extremely important if we have to understand their function.

David Baker from the University of Washington was awarded for developing methods to design new proteins based on their desired functions. His software, Rosetta, made it possible to create proteins from scratch, opening new opportunities in medicine and technology.

These AI tools have already been used to design proteins for vaccines, including a COVID-19 vaccine that targets the virus’s spike protein. Baker’s team has also created proteins that neutralize snake venom and are working on proteins to fight cancer and other diseases. Outside of medicine, protein design is being applied to environmental issues, such as creating enzymes to break down plastics and convert waste into biofuels. All these are key sectors, which will help the society move towards a more sustainable structure in the near future - making this research quite viable.