TECHNOLOGY FEATURE
04 November 2024

Five protein-design questions that still challenge AI

Tools such as Rosetta and AlphaFold have redefined the protein-engineering landscape. But some problems remain out of reach — for now.

Sara Reardon⁰

Sara Reardon
1. Sara Reardon is a freelance journalist based in Bozeman, Montana.
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An AI designed protein structure — Credit: Ian C. Haydon / UW Medicine

Alena Khmelinskaia wants designing bespoke proteins to be as simple as ordering a meal. Picture a vending machine, she says, which any researcher could use to specify their desired protein’s function, size, location, partners and other characteristics. “Ideally, you would get the perfect design that can accomplish all these things together,” says Khmelinskaia, a biophysical chemist at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany.

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Nature 635, 246-248 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03595-9

References

Vázquez Torres, S. et al. Nature 626, 435–442 (2024).
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Lauko, A. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.08.29.610411 (2024).
Guo, A. B., Akpinaroglu, D., Kelly, M. J. S. & Kortemme, T. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.07.17.603962 (2024).

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Five protein-design questions that still challenge AI

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