A recent study in the journal Nature unveiled new proteins that can neutralize the deadliest of snake venoms. They’re “new” in that they aren’t found in nature—they were created in a lab, dreamed up by AI.
Another team of scientists out of Philadelphia is using AI to discover new antibiotics by resurrecting long-lost molecules from extinct species like neanderthals and woolly mammoths.
We know what you’re thinking: It sounds too sci-fi to be true. But AI is helping scientists do something seemingly impossible—invent and synthesize never-before-seen structures.
Flora Lichtman talks with two pioneers in the field about how AI is supercharging drug discovery: Dr. César de la Fuente, bioengineer and presidential associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and Nobel laureate Dr. David Baker, director of the Institute for Protein Design and professor at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Further Reading
- Read more coverage of Dr. Baker’s work to use AI to develop novel treatments via El País.
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Segment Guests
César de la Fuente
Dr. César de la Fuente is a presidential associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
David Baker
Dr. David Baker is a Nobel prize winner, director of the Institute for Protein Design, and professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.
Segment Transcript
The transcript of this segment is being processed. It will be available early next week.
Meet the Producers and Host
About Rasha Aridi
Rasha Aridi is a producer for Science Friday and the inaugural Outrider/Burroughs Wellcome Fund Fellow. She loves stories about weird critters, science adventures, and the intersection of science and history.
About Charles Bergquist
As Science Friday’s director and senior producer, Charles Bergquist channels the chaos of a live production studio into something sounding like a radio program. Favorite topics include planetary sciences, chemistry, materials, and shiny things with blinking lights.
About Flora Lichtman
Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.