Nvidia Biosciences Research: Nobel Prize-winning Bioscience Team Uses AI to Design Synthetic Proteins to Combat Deadly Snake Venom

Computational biologist Susana Vázquez Torres works in the laboratory of Nobel Prize winner David Baker at the University of Washington. Her biotech team has used artificial intelligence to create a brand new synthetic protein that can neutralize potent snake venom, helping humans resist the deadly effects of snake venom. The research results show that Torres and her team's newly designed synthetic protein using AI is faster and more effective than traditional injected antivenom.

In the past, humans could only rely on injecting immune serum to resist snake venom after being bitten by venomous snakes. The process of making serum is complicated, requiring blood extraction from many animals to produce serum. Moreover, the failure rate of treatment is high, unable to completely resist the highly toxic effects. In addition, serum preservation is difficult, expensive, and not affordable for the general public. These medical challenges can all be addressed by AI. Researchers have used large language models to solve missions in the lab that were time-consuming and unattainable.

Susana Vázquez Torres and her team published their research findings on the Nature website, bringing new hope to rural communities in South America and Latin America that have long been severely injured or even killed by snake bites. The synthetic protein designed by AI is faster in resisting snake venom than traditional medical serum extraction methods, saving time and reducing costs for laboratory testing, allowing for large-scale production. People who could not afford treatment in the past now have a more affordable way to resist snake venom, reducing the chances of amputation and death.

AI deep learning models help design synthetic proteins to fight deadly cobra venom

NVIDIA's AI Ampere architecture deep learning model (RFdiffusion and ProteinMPNN) has generated millions of potential antitoxin structures in computer simulations. Researchers no longer need to manually screen proteins in the laboratory. Instead, they use NVIDIA's artificial intelligence tools and GPU-driven models to predict the interaction between synthesized proteins and snake venom, quickly discovering new synthesized proteins to protect humans and animals from deadly snake venom.

The newly created synthetic protein in the laboratory can tightly bind to three-finger toxins (3FTx), effectively neutralizing the severe toxicity of cobras, with three-finger toxins being the most toxic component in cobra venom.

AI biotechnology applications can be extended to other viral infections and immune disease research

This new research not only can combat snake venom, AI models can also be extended to other biotech medical research, providing more precise treatment methods for virus infections, autoimmune diseases, or other difficult conditions, replacing the need for repeated testing in new drug development experiments through AI algorithms, making various medicines easy to manufacture.

Torres and her partners, including researchers from the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Northern Colorado and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, are currently working to develop synthetic proteins for clinical testing and large-scale production.

The article Nvidia Biotech Application Research: A Nobel Laureate's Biotech Team Using AI to Design Synthetic Proteins to Resist Deadly Snake Venom first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.