Category: Community
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Training A.I. to generate medicines and vaccines
Today we report in Science [PDF] the development of artificial intelligence software that can create proteins that may be useful as vaccines, cancer treatments, or even tools for pulling carbon pollution out of the air. This project was led by Jue Wang, Doug Tischer, and Joseph L. Watson, who are postdoctoral scholars at UW Medicine, as well as Sidney Lisanza and David Juergens,…
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Custom biosensors for detecting coronavirus antibodies in blood
Today we report in Nature Biotechnology the design of custom protein-based biosensors that can detect coronavirus-neutralizing antibodies in blood. This research, which builds on prior sensor design technology in the lab, was led by Baker lab postdoctoral scholars Jason Zhang, PhD, and Hsien-Wei (Andy) Yeh, PhD. From Behind the Paper: [W]e utilized the de novo…
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De novo designed rotary proteins
Today we report in Science the design of rotary devices made from custom proteins. These microscopic “axles” and “rotors” come together to form spinning assemblies, rather than being locked in just one orientation. Such mechanical coupling is a key feature of any machine. The new axle-rotor devices — which are each about a billion times smaller than…
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New COVID-19 nasal spray outperforms current antibody treatments in mice
A new protein-based antiviral nasal spray developed by Baker lab researchers in collaboration with scientists Northwestern University, UW Medicine, and Washington University at St. Louis is being advanced toward Phase I human clinical trials to treat COVID-19. Designed computationally and refined in the laboratory, the new protein therapies thwarted infection by interfering with the virus’…
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Skiing fresh powder on Lundin Peak
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Design of proteins binders from target structure alone
Today we report in Nature a new method for generating protein drugs. Using Rosetta-based design, an international team designed molecules that can target important proteins in the body, such as the insulin receptor, as well as proteins on the surface of viruses. This solves a long-standing challenge in drug development and may lead to new…
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Exploring new landscapes
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Watch David Baker speak at the PDB 50 Year Anniversary
The Protein Data Bank (PDB), an archive of free macromolecular structural data, recently marked its 50th birthday. To celebrate, Biophysical Society hosted a virtual symposium, highlighting some of the high-impact applications of protein structural data, with a particular focus on the areas of structure prediction and membrane protein biophysics. At the event, David Baker shared…