David Baker has succeeded with the almost impossible feat of building entirely new kinds of proteins. Demis Hassabis and John Jumper have developed an AI model to solve a 50-year-old problem: predicting proteins' complex structures.
These discoveries hold enormous potential.
The diversity of life testifies to proteins' amazing capacity as chemical tools. They control and drive all the chemical reactions that together are the basis of life. Proteins also function as hormones, signal substances, antibodies and the building blocks of different tissues.
"One of the discoveries being recognised this year concerns the construction of spectacular proteins. The other is about fulfilling a 50-year-old dream: predicting protein structures from their amino acid sequences.
Both of these discoveries open up vast possibilities," says Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.
This story is from the September - October 2024 edition of Scientific India.
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This story is from the September - October 2024 edition of Scientific India.
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