This is the second award specifically related to artificial intelligence, demonstrating the increasing impact of machine learning on scientific discoveries. The other day, the Nobel Prize in Physics was also awarded to researchers in the field of artificial intelligence, strengthening the relevance and impact of artificial intelligence in various disciplines.

This year’s chemistry laureates were recognized for their work on using artificial intelligence to accurately predict protein structures, one of biology’s greatest challenges.

Why is this an important discovery?

Demis Hassabis, John Jumper and their team at DeepMind presented the platform Alpha Fold It will revolutionize the prediction of protein structures in 2018. Before AlphaFold, researchers had to painstakingly predict the 3D structures of proteins by hand, based on their knowledge of two dozen amino acids.

Proteins, which take on complex shapes in space, are vital for many biological processes, from catalyzing chemical reactions to creating cellular building blocks.

Proteins work properly only when their three-dimensional shape fits like a key to a particular biological “lock.” Understanding this structure is critical for the development of new drugs, enzymes and biotechnological applications.

Predicting the structure of a protein based on its amino acid sequence was once an impossible task due to the large number of potential configurations until the advent of AlphaFold. It is already an artificial intelligence focused platform Predicted the structure of all 200 million proteinsIt is a protein that is known to science and can predict new proteins that are not found in nature.

How AlphaFold works: watch the video

David Baker’s first work on protein design

Long before AlphaFold was created, David Baker had already made significant advances in protein design. in 2003 successfully created a new protein with a completely new structureIt was something that had never been imagined before. His pioneering work in this field laid the foundation for today’s advances in computational biology and earned him recognition by the Nobel Committee.

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognizes these breakthroughs in protein research, which have the potential to transform fields ranging from medicine to biotechnology. Thanks to the work of these awardees, the scientific community is now better equipped to explore the broad possibilities of protein design, leading to the discovery of new treatments, materials, and biological tools.