Wednesday W.O.W - AlphaFold 🧬🤖🦾
[5 min read] Your mid-week bite sized treat on emerging tech on our journey to the Metaverse. Discover Google DeepMind's AI tool unlocking biological insights through protein folding.
A nibble of knowledge in your inbox every Wednesday with a simple format:
🇼 What the technology is.
🇴 Objective(s) - what is it trying to achieve, with some examples
🇼 Why it is important.
This is week 54 of the 520 weeks of writing I have committed to, a decade of documenting our physical and digital lives converge.
🇼 What is AlphaFold?
Proteins are the building blocks of life. They are responsible for many functions in our cells, such as detecting light, transmitting signals, and reading DNA. But how do these tiny molecules work? And how can we study them?
To answer these questions, we need to know the 3D shape of proteins, which determines their function and interactions. However, finding the exact structure of a protein is not easy. It can take years and millions of dollars using traditional methods, such as X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance. This limits our ability to understand the role of proteins in biology and disease, and to design new drugs and therapies.
This is where AlphaFold comes in. AlphaFold is an artificial intelligence (AI) system developed by DeepMind, a research company based in London. AlphaFold can predict the 3D structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence, which is the order of the chemical units that make up the protein. AlphaFold does this by using deep learning, a technique that allows computers to learn from data and find patterns.
AlphaFold was trained on a large database of known protein sequences and structures, and then tested in a challenge where research groups from around the world submit their best predictions for the structures of proteins that have not been publicly released yet. AlphaFold achieved unprecedented accuracy!
AlphaFold is not only accurate, but also fast. It can predict the structure of a protein in a matter of minutes, compared to the months or years it would take using experimental methods. This means that AlphaFold can help researchers study millions of proteins that are currently unknown or poorly characterised, and accelerate the discovery of new medicines and treatments.
🇴 What are the Objectives?
Swift Precision: AlphaFold's game-changing attribute lies in its rapid predictions, requiring mere minutes compared to the protracted timelines of traditional methods. This acceleration enables researchers to explore millions of unknown or poorly characterised proteins swiftly.
Global Accessibility: In a strategic alliance with EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute, DeepMind birthed the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database. This invaluable resource, encompassing predictions for over 200 million proteins, including the human proteome, is freely available online. With over a million users spanning 190 countries, AlphaFold democratises access to groundbreaking insights.
Bridging the Knowledge Gap: By providing quick and accurate structural insights, AlphaFold becomes an indispensable tool for unravelling the mysteries of proteins. Its contributions extend to diverse realms, from developing novel medicines to addressing environmental concerns like single-use plastics.
🇼 Why is AlphaFold important to the future of society?
In a way, AlphaFold initiates somewhat of a scientific renaissance by expediting research across various biological domains. Its ability to swiftly unlock the structures of proteins opens new avenues for understanding diseases and designing targeted treatments. This leap in knowledge heralds a new era in biotechnological advancements.
In addressing global challenges, AlphaFold plays a pivotal role. The acceleration of protein structure determination aids in developing sustainable solutions, such as tackling the scourge of single-use plastics. The environmental impact of such innovations positions AlphaFold as a catalyst for positive change.
By creating the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database, DeepMind ensures that the benefits of AlphaFold are not confined to a select few. This democratisation of knowledge fosters collaboration and innovation on a global scale, amplifying the impact of AlphaFold across borders and disciplines.
wrapping up, AlphaFold transcends its AI origins, becoming a cornerstone in the quest for deeper biological insights and solving all kinds of problems in materials science, healthcare, and so many more domains.
Bonus
As a bonus watch, this 3 min interview covers AI Product Management, AlphaGo, and Google DeepMind's ethical considerations with Mehdi Ghissassi, Director of Product Management, addressing AI's impact, safety, and industry trends:
That’s all for this week! If you have any organisations in mind that could benefit from learning about emerging technology, be sure to reach out. Educational workshops are one of many consulting services I offer.