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December 3

How long is this problem in molecular biology?

In 2016, DeepMind turned its artificial intelligence to protein folding, a long-standing problem in molecular biology.

How long is this problem in molecular biology? Source HarryOrange (talk) 10:20, 3 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Even before the process of protein biosynthesis was discovered, it was known that small changes in the amino acid sequence could lead to major changes in protein structure. How the amino acid sequence determined the protein structure was an open question, but at the time one with no practical relevance, initially drawing little theoretical interest. That changed in 1969 when Cyrus Levinthal published the paper that gave rise to the term Levinthal's paradox. With the possibility to edit genes and synthesize proteins in the lab, it has now also become a problem of high practical relevance, but 1969 is a good starting date for the standing of the problem. --Lambiam 15:05, 3 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I just came across this YouTube video: "How AI Cracked the Protein Folding Code and Won a Nobel Prize". It also gives the history of the problem. --Lambiam 09:20, 6 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]