British researchers have opened up a “new vista of science” by creating a database of proteins that promises to power a revolution in biology and drug discovery.
A team from Deepmind, the AI company, has used a computer program called Alphafold to predict the shape of 350,000 protein structures — the building blocks of life — in one day more than doubling the number understood by science.
The tool promises a “revolution” in the life sciences, said Edith Heard, director-general of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, which worked with Deepmind on making the predictions accessible.
“Proteins represent the fundamental building blocks that living organisms are made of,” she said.
“Accurately predicting their structures, has a huge range of scientific applications from developing new drugs
