AlphaFold: Science’s It Girl
We all know DNA is essential for life, but many people don’t know the specifics of how it provides for organisms. Essentially, DNA is a code that tells our body how to make the proteins that are essential for our survival. The exact specifics of what all of these different codes do, and even what all of these proteins look like, have not been deciphered by scientists. However, some of the answers to these mysteries can be predicted- and many have been, thanks to an exciting new technological innovation.
AlphaFold describes itself as an “AI system … that predicts a protein’s 3D structure from its amino acid sequence.” In other words, it can look at the order of amino acids, or monomers, of a protein, and be able to predict which interactions and bonds will occur within that linear structure, which in turn predicts the exact shape of the protein. AlphaFold was developed by DeepMind, an artificial intelligence subsidiary founded by Alphabet Inc. in 2010 and acquired by Google in 2014.
Using artificial intelligence to solve biological mysteries is a huge breakthrough in both fields. AlphaFold’s creators claim that accurate prediction of a protein’s structure at the click of a mouse will lead to advancements in genetics, pharmacology, epidemiology, and many other important disciplines. However, many are not as convinced that AlphaFold will have as many benefits as predicted. In an opinion article for Chemistry World, chemist Derek Lowe argues that while AlphaFold’s achievements are extraordinary, the program is not yet advanced enough to assist scientists in tasks such as discovering new drugs. Proteins are still extremely unpredictable, and unfortunately, AlphaFold has not reached the level of being able to illustrate all of the possible interactions that may occur between units of a protein or several different proteins.
While the development of AlphaFold is certainly indicative of how far we have come in being able to understand scientific mysteries, it is important to be realistic and understand that we still have a long ways to go before this understanding can have many tangible effects on the improvement of humanity. In the meantime, though, we can still be amazed at the awesomeness that is the AlphaFold program.