New AI breakthrough unlocks complex protein structures
Scientists use AI and physics simulations to decode complex proteins and speed up medical breakthroughs.
AI is reshaping protein research, enabling scientists to decode complex molecular structures with greater speed and precision. Researchers at the National University of Singapore are using AI to accelerate biomedical discovery and disease research.
Protein function depends on three-dimensional structure, yet experimental mapping remains slow and resource-intensive. A team led by Zhang Yang developed D-I-TASSER, an AI tool that predicts 3D structures of complex multi-domain proteins.
The system combines AI with physics simulations, predicting protein segments before assembling a full structural model. Testing showed roughly 13 percent higher accuracy than existing leading methods, while enabling structural modelling across much of the human proteome.
Future development will expand the framework to RNA structures and protein-protein interactions, including antibody-antigen complexes, with the long-term goal of modelling dynamic protein folding processes inside living cells.
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