Nature didn’t evolve all the proteins we need, but maybe artificial intelligence can help. Jacob and Saloni explore how tools like AlphaFold and ProteinMPNN are helping researchers re-engineer proteins, to make them safer, more stable, and more effective. They talk about how new technologies could help make a long-sought vaccine against Strep A, which causes scarlet fever and rheumatic heart disease, and how similar tools have already led to breakthroughs against COVID and RSV.
Hard Drugs is a new podcast from Works in Progress and Open Philanthropy about medical innovation presented by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen.
Saloni’s substack newsletter: https://www.scientificdiscovery.dev/
Jacob’s blog: https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/
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Acknowledgements:
- Aria Babu, editor at Works in Progress
- Graham Bessellieu, video editor
- Rachel Su, on-site editor
- Anna Magpie, fact-checking
- Abhishaike Mahajan, cover art
- Atalanta Arden-Miller, art direction
- David Hackett, composer
Works in Progress & Open Philanthropy
