Scientists from DeepMind, a Google company, discovered through Artificial Intelligence, one of the characteristics that make proteins obtain their three-dimensional form. It is a discovery that has been investigated since the 1970s.
DeepMind is a company specialized in Artificial Intelligence (AI) that since 2014 belongs to Alphabet Inc. One of the programs DeepMind has developed is AlphaFold, this project was described as “the culmination of several years of work, and builds on decades of prior research using large genomic datasets to predict protein structure.” The shape of proteins determines their function, which is why this discovery is a big step for the development of science in today's times. Thanks to AI, trial and error testing was possible, which shortened research time and of course reduced costs.
Proteins are composed of amino acid sequences bound together, in this way amino acids interact to achieve the forms of folded blade or alpha propeller. These forms largely achieve the three-dimensional shape of protein structure.
The first findings were described in the articles published in the scientific journals Natura and PROTEINS, published in January 2020 and October 2019, respectively. Both studies indicated that the 3D models developed by AlphaFold were more accurate than any other generated years ago. “What any given protein can do depends on its unique 3D structure. For example, antibody proteins utilised by our immune systems are ‘Y-shaped’, and form unique hooks. By latching on to viruses and bacteria, these antibody proteins are able to detect and tag disease - causing microorganisms for elimination,” as they explained it on their official site.
In this way, the developments of AlphaFold can be used for the creation and development of new drugs for the treatment of various diseases. Demis Hassabis, who founded DeepMind in 2010 and now serves as CEO mentioned the following about this scientific breakthrough: “It marks an exciting moment for the field. These algorithms are now becoming mature enough and powerful enough to be applicable to really challenging scientific problems.”
Scientists have described this discovery as a turning point, which will change not only medicine but research in bioengineering. The scientific community hopes this finding can help in researching more proteins and the potential development of new drugs.
AlphaFold's project participated in the Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction or CAPS, an event held every two years where specialized protein projects are exposed and competed with each other. In fact, the code used in CAPS13 by DeepMind is available on GitHub via the following link: https://github.com/deepmind/deepmind-research/tree/master/alphafold_casp13.
Preliminary studies are available at the following links: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/prot.25834
BBC
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-55140137
THE GUARDIAN
DEEPMIND
https://deepmind.com/blog/article/AlphaFold-Using-AI-for-scientific-discovery
NATURE
