In 2018 Francis Arnold during her Nobel Prize lectures in Chemistry, mentioned that while science was able to read, record, and edit DNA sequences at that time, it couldn’t create them. However, advances in technology have made this statement irrelevant today.
Scientific progress has led to artificial intelligence being able to compose DNA sequences, and with the help of genetically modified bacteria, researchers are on their way to developing and creating new proteins. By using AI and genetic editing, these bacteria can be transformed into facilities for producing proteins that have various applications such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, breaking down plastic, or acting as pesticides.
Genetic sequencing has provided insights into the structures and functions of DNA and RNA, the carriers of hereditary information. Proteins, which are crucial components of the human body, play key roles in muscles, enzymes, hormones, blood, hair, and cartilage. Understanding proteins is essential for comprehending biology.
The completion of the “human genome project” in 2003 was a significant milestone in genetics, unraveling the human genome with around 3 billion base pairs and 20-25 thousand genes. However, understanding the roles of most proteins and addressing their abnormalities remained challenging.
The shape of proteins is vital for their functions and is dictated by the sequence of amino acids, which in turn is based on the gene’s nucleotide sequence. Misfolded proteins can lead to diseases like neurodegenerative disorders, cystic fibrosis, and type 2 diabetes. Exploring these diseases and devising treatments necessitate an understanding of protein structures.
Prior to 2016, X-ray crystallography was the primary method for determining protein structures, utilizing x-ray diffraction on crystal samples to reveal atomic arrangements in three dimensions. This approach had elucidated about 200,000 protein structures, but the process was costly.