Synth wave: designing proteins and genomes from scratch

Proteins are the molecular machines that make life work. Each one in your body has a specific task—some become muscles, bones and skin. Others carry oxygen in the blood or get used as hormones or antibodies. Yet more become enzymes, helping to catalyse chemical reactions inside our bodies. 

Given proteins can do so many things, what if scientists could design bespoke versions to order? Novel proteins, never seen before in nature, could make biofuels, say, or clean up pollution or create new ways to harvest power from sunlight. David Baker, a biochemist and recent Nobel laureate in chemistry, has been working on that challenge since the 1980s. Now, powered by artificial intelligence and inspired by living cells, he is leading scientists around the world in inventing a whole new molecular world. 

Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: David Baker of the University of Washington; and The Economist’s Geoff Carr and Emilie Steinmark. 

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