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AI Designs Proteins With Potential for Medicines, Vaccines


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folded protein, illustration

Credit: Ian C. Haydon / University of Washington

University of Washington researchers have unveiled artificial intelligence (AI) software that can design structures for proteins that do not exist in nature, including compounds that could potentially be used in cancer treatments and vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus infections.

The AI taps innovations in predicting three-dimensional protein structures from amino acid sequences, using the RoseTTAFold software to form proteins from scratch via processes called inpainting and constrained hallucination.

Inpainting gives the AI a starting point from which it can fill in additional protein components based on its understanding of protein-folding. Constrained hallucination establishes a goal, and the AI evolves a virtual protein to meet the goal. Both approaches yielded successful laboratory-cultured proteins.

From Science
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Abstracts Copyright © 2021 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA


 

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