IN 2022, Hong Kong-based pharma company Insilico Medicine along with researchers from Stanford University, US, and the University of Toronto, Canada, began a unique experiment, powered by three artificial intelligence (AI)tools.
The experiment was to find a cure for Hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer. In the first stage, the company's biocomputational platform called PandaOmics scanned through endless research papers online to shortlist 20 potential targets-either proteins or enzymes for drugs to act on. Of these, the researchers selected cyclin-dependent kinase 20 (CDK20)-an enzyme that had topped the list. In the second stage, the researchers turned to AlphaFold, a Google-owned open access AI system that predicts a protein's (all enzymes are proteins) three-dimensional (3D) structure. Of the 20,000 proteins present in the human body, structures for only 10 per cent are known, and CDK20 was one of the unknowns. Knowing the protein's shape is necessary to find chemicals capable of binding and inactivating it. Finally, the researchers fed the 3D structure into Chemistry42, an AI algorithm owned by Insilco Medicine, which designed 8,918 new chemicals with a high probability of attaching to CDK20. The researchers used computational modelling to virtually fit the chemicals with CDK20 and shortlisted seven candidates showing the best affinity for the target. They then constructed physical tests to assess how strongly the seven candidates attached to the enzyme and picked the chemical showing the best affinity.
The entire process took just 30 days. It would have taken at least six months (even a year) if all 8,918 chemicals were tested individually. The results are published in January 2023 in the journal Chemical Science.
Bu hikaye Down To Earth dergisinin April 01, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Down To Earth dergisinin April 01, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE