7 ms·

Two minute papers video on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI3EoCjWC2E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI3EoCjWC2E

deisteve 2y ago
i studied molecular biology and i couldn't help contain my excitement when it was able to bind to another protein. I dont think HN realizes how huge this is. With this level of accuracy, not only can we understand the full mysteries of ourselves but literally any biological entity. With that level of understanding, its easy to fabricate special medicines that target specific biochem pathways, but more exciting is that we can literally "code in 3d world". We'll be able to print and grow organs in mass. We'll be able to design structures that will bind to target proteins responsible for certain traits. The potential boon to human medicine will be enormous. I got like goosebumps after watching that video because I understood the implications of being able to predict folds and now generate proteins that will bind to any protein we choose!!!! We just might have discovered a panacea of sorts and Demis and his team should receive the Nobel Prize. I'm just ecstatic that we'll see so much drastic improvement in human medicine and importantly how accessible they will be with this new discovery.
- holoduke 2y ago
  In 2035 everybody can live forever.
- kridsdale3 2y ago
  How do you feel about the potential bioterrorism alternate angle of this capability?
  - deisteve 2y ago
    it would be like committing terrorism using silicon wafers you would have to infiltrate an extremely guarded facility you would somehow have to bypass QA its not like somebody on the assembly line for a new protein drug sprinkles a dose of PCP one potential dual use could be somebody modifying a popular fruit with birds and then droppin seeds at the local organic farm fair and then when those seeds are consumed by birds they produce poop dangerous for other animals to consume you could absolutely screw around with the ecosystem, like whoever has access to this programmable "bio-wafer" will be able to play god totally undetected. the problem is that "bio-wafer" manufacturing process will be very tough and regulated like the CNC machines used to manufacture jet engines depriving certain countries from being able to churn out their own jet engines
    - mjcohen 2y ago
      Its not regulated if a government does it.
  - kemmishtree 2y ago
    If you haven't heard the phrase "utility-scale molecular sensing" or given it any thought, please prepare to update every opinion you might have about bioterrorism, and ask Keltar how the MR1 is our greatest plausible non-authoritarian line of defense. www.molecularreality.com Keltar is the little green guy in the upper left.
  - kemmishtree 2y ago
    Oh and don't get an account it's broken right now, I'm building the site and hardly anyone has been there yet and the Auth0 is fucked up. But just give your email to Keltar if you wanna followup.
    - deisteve 2y ago
      LMAO this is some low effort LLM
      - kemmishtree 2y ago
        How could you say that when you didn't chat with it at all?
  - marcyb5st 2y ago
    I don't see it as much different from what we have today. Nowadays I am pretty sure that a bad actor with enough money get their hands on strains of really bad stuff since many labs created those to do research. With enough $$$ I bet you can get their hands on them and then release them. Perhaps, the only difference I see is that it could give you the possibility to (at least in the beginning) to somewhat target the spread. However, given enough mutations it is very likely you go back to an uncontrolled pandemic and so there is no difference from what someone could achieve today. Additionally, IMHO, getting the blueprint in how to build your protein and then make it so that existing virus/bacteria can produce it, carry it, ... sounds harder and costlier than bribing someone to get something out of said labs.
  - tim333 2y ago
    There are already easier ways to do bioterrorism if you are thinking a virus that kills a lot of people.
- stanford_labrat 2y ago
  > We'll be able to print and grow organs in mass. I'm a PhD candidate doing my thesis work on stem cell models and tissue engineering for organ transplant...I think this technology is certainly a large leap forward but I think you are a little overzealous with this claim.
- aquafox 2y ago
  > With that level of understanding, its easy to fabricate special medicines that target specific biochem pathways The problem is to find the right target or pathway in the first place. Just go to opentargets.org. There are lots of potential targets by different metrics but for many diseases we haven't identified that single target that let's us improve the life of say, 20% of patients, for disease X.
- nextos 2y ago
  Engineering biology is much much harder than simply knowing approximately how to fold proteins. Obviously folding proteins is an important first step. Arc Institute and others are already looking at whole cell models, i.e. systems biology. It's a totally different level of abstraction.
- m3kw9 2y ago
  Let’s see a real drug coming out of this then we can talk
ramraj07 2y ago
That channel is just hype machine. Like half the stuff he says is barely comprehensible if you know the actual science.
- kick_in_the_dor 2y ago
  When he started the video with "I had the honor of having an exclusive look at it" I knew it was all marketing.
  - throwaway314155 2y ago
    [flagged]

deisteve 2y ago

i studied molecular biology and i couldn't help contain my excitement when it was able to bind to another protein. I dont think HN realizes how huge this is. With this level of accuracy, not only can we understand the full mysteries of ourselves but literally any biological entity. With that level of understanding, its easy to fabricate special medicines that target specific biochem pathways, but more exciting is that we can literally "code in 3d world". We'll be able to print and grow organs in mass. We'll be able to design structures that will bind to target proteins responsible for certain traits. The potential boon to human medicine will be enormous. I got like goosebumps after watching that video because I understood the implications of being able to predict folds and now generate proteins that will bind to any protein we choose!!!! We just might have discovered a panacea of sorts and Demis and his team should receive the Nobel Prize. I'm just ecstatic that we'll see so much drastic improvement in human medicine and importantly how accessible they will be with this new discovery.

holoduke 2y ago
In 2035 everybody can live forever.
kridsdale3 2y ago
How do you feel about the potential bioterrorism alternate angle of this capability?
- deisteve 2y ago
  it would be like committing terrorism using silicon wafers you would have to infiltrate an extremely guarded facility you would somehow have to bypass QA its not like somebody on the assembly line for a new protein drug sprinkles a dose of PCP one potential dual use could be somebody modifying a popular fruit with birds and then droppin seeds at the local organic farm fair and then when those seeds are consumed by birds they produce poop dangerous for other animals to consume you could absolutely screw around with the ecosystem, like whoever has access to this programmable "bio-wafer" will be able to play god totally undetected. the problem is that "bio-wafer" manufacturing process will be very tough and regulated like the CNC machines used to manufacture jet engines depriving certain countries from being able to churn out their own jet engines
  - mjcohen 2y ago
    Its not regulated if a government does it.
- kemmishtree 2y ago
  If you haven't heard the phrase "utility-scale molecular sensing" or given it any thought, please prepare to update every opinion you might have about bioterrorism, and ask Keltar how the MR1 is our greatest plausible non-authoritarian line of defense. www.molecularreality.com Keltar is the little green guy in the upper left.
- kemmishtree 2y ago
  Oh and don't get an account it's broken right now, I'm building the site and hardly anyone has been there yet and the Auth0 is fucked up. But just give your email to Keltar if you wanna followup.
  - deisteve 2y ago
    LMAO this is some low effort LLM
    - kemmishtree 2y ago
      How could you say that when you didn't chat with it at all?
- marcyb5st 2y ago
  I don't see it as much different from what we have today. Nowadays I am pretty sure that a bad actor with enough money get their hands on strains of really bad stuff since many labs created those to do research. With enough $$$ I bet you can get their hands on them and then release them. Perhaps, the only difference I see is that it could give you the possibility to (at least in the beginning) to somewhat target the spread. However, given enough mutations it is very likely you go back to an uncontrolled pandemic and so there is no difference from what someone could achieve today. Additionally, IMHO, getting the blueprint in how to build your protein and then make it so that existing virus/bacteria can produce it, carry it, ... sounds harder and costlier than bribing someone to get something out of said labs.
- tim333 2y ago
  There are already easier ways to do bioterrorism if you are thinking a virus that kills a lot of people.
stanford_labrat 2y ago
> We'll be able to print and grow organs in mass. I'm a PhD candidate doing my thesis work on stem cell models and tissue engineering for organ transplant...I think this technology is certainly a large leap forward but I think you are a little overzealous with this claim.
aquafox 2y ago
> With that level of understanding, its easy to fabricate special medicines that target specific biochem pathways The problem is to find the right target or pathway in the first place. Just go to opentargets.org. There are lots of potential targets by different metrics but for many diseases we haven't identified that single target that let's us improve the life of say, 20% of patients, for disease X.
nextos 2y ago
Engineering biology is much much harder than simply knowing approximately how to fold proteins. Obviously folding proteins is an important first step. Arc Institute and others are already looking at whole cell models, i.e. systems biology. It's a totally different level of abstraction.
m3kw9 2y ago
Let’s see a real drug coming out of this then we can talk

ramraj07 2y ago

That channel is just hype machine. Like half the stuff he says is barely comprehensible if you know the actual science.

kick_in_the_dor 2y ago
When he started the video with "I had the honor of having an exclusive look at it" I knew it was all marketing.
- throwaway314155 2y ago
  [flagged]