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Evolutionary Scale made headlines with their "GFP Breakthrough," where ESM3 was able to create a brand new green fluorescent protein (GFP) - something that would have taken nature hundreds of millions of years to evolve. By asking ESM3 to generate potential new GFP proteins, the team was able to test the model's creations in the lab and identify a completely novel, brightly shining GFP that has never been seen in nature.
Real-World Applications: Transforming Drug Discovery and Material Science
The implications of ESM3's abilities go far beyond just cool science. This technology could have a significant impact on real-world challenges, such as:
Drug Discovery: ESM3 could be used to design proteins that target specific disease pathways with incredible accuracy, leading to more effective treatments with fewer side effects. It could also help identify potential drug targets and enable personalized medicine.
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Material Science: ESM3 could be used to design entirely new biomaterials with desirable properties like tensile strength, flexibility, or conductivity. This could lead to the development of sustainable, biodegradable, and even self-healing materials.
Carbon Capture: ESM3 could potentially be used to design proteins that can efficiently bind to and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to address climate change.
Democratizing Access to Powerful AI
Evolutionary Scale is committed to making ESM3 accessible to the wider scientific community. They have an open-source version available for researchers, as well as a closed beta API for specific applications. By partnering with companies like AWS and Nvidia, they are working to make this technology more widely available.
Ethical Considerations and the Future of Protein Engineering
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Evolutionary Scale's AI Breakthrough: Designing New Proteins from Scratch
Evolutionary Scale: Shaking Up Biology with AI
Evolutionary Scale is an AI research lab that has made waves in the world of biology. Founded in 2023, their ambitious goal is to make biology "programmable" using AI. This team has serious credentials, having developed ESM1, one of the early protein language models, while at Meta (Facebook).
ESM3: A Protein Encyclopedia on Steroids
The centerpiece of Evolutionary Scale's work is their AI model, ESM3. This generative AI was trained on a staggering 2.78 billion proteins, giving it an encyclopedic knowledge of protein sequences, structures, and functions. Unlike other protein-focused AI models, ESM3 looks beyond just the sequence, also considering the 3D structure and function of proteins.
The GFP Breakthrough: Creating New Proteins from Scratch
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As with any powerful technology, there are important ethical considerations to address. Concerns around unintended consequences and potential misuse, such as the development of dangerous pathogens or bioweapons, must be carefully considered.
Additionally, the ability to "program" life raises deeper philosophical questions about the boundaries and implications of this technology. Lessons from the development of genome editing, such as the global agreement on germline gene editing, may provide a framework for establishing ethical guidelines and safety boundaries.
As the field of protein engineering rapidly advances, with ESM3 being just the beginning, the future holds immense potential - both in terms of transformative applications and the need for responsible stewardship. The scientific community, policymakers, and the public will all have a role to play in shaping this new frontier.