Google turns AlphaFold loose on the entire human genome
Just one week after Google's DeepMind AI group finally described its biology efforts in detail, the company is releasing a paper that explains how it analyzed nearly every protein encoded in the human genome and predicted its likely three-dimensional structure—a structure that can be critical for understanding disease and designing treatments. In the very near future, all of these structures will be released under a Creative Commons license via the European Bioinformatics Institute, which already hosts a major database of protein structures.
In a press conference associated with the paper's release, DeepMind's Demis Hassabis made clear that the company isn't stopping there. In addition to the work described in the paper, the company will release structural predictions for the genomes of 20 major research organisms, from yeast to fruit flies to mice. In total, the database launch will include roughly 350,000 protein structures.
The three-dimensional structure that results can give us critical information about the protein, such as how it interacts with other proteins and chemicals and where on the protein chemical reactions occur. Using the structure, researchers can learn how specific mutations, like the ones that cause genetic diseases, alter the protein's function. Researchers can also use the structure to design chemicals that can interact with the protein and change its function, something that has led to therapies for various cancers and HIV.
