DeepMind surprises us with a new announcement! 

DeepMind, a subsidiary of Google, solves a 50-year-old problem. The “protein folding problem” has been a concern for scientists for decades.

Proteins are complex structures of amino acid combinations and are involved in almost every biological process. At formation they are folded into a final three-dimensional shape. The function of a protein depends entirely on this 3D structure. With the accurate prediction of the 3D structure we could proceed to the faster discovery of drugs and even the prediction of an impending pandemic disease.

DeepMind’s AlphaFold 2 application, in just a few days, could succesfully predict 3D protein structures with an accuracy of up to 92.4%.

“I never thought I would see a solution in my lifetime,” University of Maryland biologist John Moult told Science magazine.

Determining the exact shape of a protein is undoubtedly a huge biological and technological advancement that will significantly help humanity in the future.