Chinese scientists make ‘impossible’ AI breakthrough in drug research
- The team says its machine learning model can accurately predict the complex molecular changes that determine a drug’s effectiveness
- Structural biologists, including China’s Yan Ning, regard the task as beyond the capabilities of artificial intelligence
The breakthrough could speed up the preclinical drug development process, according to the researchers, led by Professor Li Ziqing with Westlake University’s school of engineering. Part of their work was published by peer-reviewed journal Advanced Science in October.
Protein molecules – the body’s building blocks – are made up of long chains of amino acids. The three-dimensional structure of the chains causes reversible changes to the protein, depending on the required biological function, and these alternative structures are referred to as conformations.
Structural biologist Yan – who returned home last month after resigning from Princeton University – fuelled debate over AI’s limitations in the field in one of her first public appearances since her return.
Speaking at a forum hosted by the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen on November 27, Yan highlighted the technology’s limitations in understanding protein conformation, an important yet difficult aspect in pharmaceutical development.
But, according to Li and his team, their AI model ProtMD overcomes the problem and can accurately predict which conformations proteins will form in different physiological environments.