With the help of artificial intelligence, researchers have created a fluorescent protein never seen in nature, simulating half a billion years of evolution in the laboratory. This discovery could revolutionize medical, environmental and technological science.
Imagine jumping forward half a billion years in time. Hard, right? Now, imagine condensing that time period in a lab with the help of artificial intelligence. That’s exactly what a group of researchers managed to do. Using a revolutionary AI model, they simulated 500 million years of evolution and created a brand-new fluorescent protein called esmGFP. Let’s dive into this incredible breakthrough.
How AI has revolutionized the study of proteins
All began with pioneering work by researchers such as David Baker, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the computational design of proteins. This work laid the foundation for new technologies to be applied to the study and creation of proteins.
The EvolutionaryScale team used a generative language model called ESM3. While its name suggests that it can create text, its true ability is much more advanced: it can generate proteins. It was able to analyze billions of protein sequences and structures, which is essential for predicting how these molecules function in the real world.
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The birth of esmGFP: an artificial fluorescent protein
If you’ve heard of green fluorescent proteins (GFPs), you may know that they’re found in jellyfish and other marine creatures. Discoveries involving GFPs even earned a Nobel Prize in 2008. Now, researchers have gone one step further and created a new protein that’s part of the GFP “family” but has its own unique characteristics.
esmGFP is a perfect example of how AI can not only replicate what already exists in nature, but also create something entirely new. While it shares similarities with natural GFPs, its structure and shape are different, revealing possibilities that were previously beyond the reach of natural evolution.
500 million year simulation: a leap in evolutionary time
Simulating half a billion years of evolution in a lab sounds like science fiction, but the team at EvolutionaryScale has done it. Using AI, the researchers recreated processes that natural evolution would have taken millions of years to achieve. The result? A functional protein that, despite not existing in nature, could very well be part of an alternate reality.
esmGFP is not just a scientific curiosity. Its creation demonstrates the power of artificial intelligence in exploring the “what ifs” of evolution, imagining scenarios where nature would have taken different paths.
The importance of the ESM3 generative model
ESM3 is the engine behind this breakthrough. Trained on 771 billion packets of data, it has analyzed more than 3 billion protein sequences and structures. Using this data, the model can predict how a sequence of amino acids will fold to form a protein and what its function will be.
This approach is a giant leap forward from traditional methods, which typically focus solely on the amino acid sequence, ignoring the three-dimensional shape that determines how the protein actually functions.
Impacts and future applications of artificial protein by researchers
What can we expect from this discovery? The creation of artificial proteins opens the door to countless possibilities. Imagine personalized medicines that work with millimeter precision or solutions to environmental problems, such as breaking down plastics or capturing carbon.
Artificial proteins can be used in technology, creating more efficient sensors or even fluorescent materials for industrial applications.
If nature had chosen another path, what kind of organisms might exist today? Studies by researchers like this one not only reveal the limitations of natural evolution, but also make us question the infinite possibilities of biology.
Synthetic biology is literally creating tailor-made life, opening a new era of scientific innovation. With artificial intelligence, we are becoming co-authors of the book of evolution.
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