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SPONSORED BY  | | | | October 9, 2024: Protein function wins the chemistry Nobel, "cyborg" worms, and Milton is about to make landfall. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | Milton barrels toward Florida. NOAA/NEDIS/STAR | | | • The first of Milton's rain is hitting the western coast of Florida, and the body of the hurricane is expected to make landfall tonight. We'll continuously update this article on the catastrophic storm. | 7 min read
More on Milton:
The "big one" is heading straight for Tampa, after years of warnings from scientists and urban planners. | 5 min read | | | • The European Space Agency launched its Hera mission this week. In 2026 the spacecraft will arrive at Dimorphos, an asteroid deliberately struck by NASA's DART spacecraft. | 3 min read | | | • Rwanda is battling its first-ever outbreak of Marburg virus, a deadly illness related to Ebola. They're employing rigorous testing, contact tracing and quarantining measures. | 5 min read | | | Protein Scientists Win Chem Nobel | This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists for their work on proteins–the building blocks of life. Two of the researchers, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, both at Google DeepMind in London, shared the prize for creating AlphaFold2—an AI program that can predict a protein molecule's shape and structure based on its amino acids. The third winner, David Baker, a structural biologist at the University of Washington, won for creating artificial proteins.
Why this matters: In 2022, AlphaFold released a database of the 3-D structure of more than 200 million proteins. The structure of a protein determines its function, and this data will enable scientists to understand myriad biological functions and create new drugs to target proteins, for example. Baker used other AI tools to design artificial proteins never seen before in nature. One particularly powerful creation: A tiny molecule that blocks the activity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
What the experts say: Because proteins are such basic workhorses in biology, the ability to design artificial ones is "absolutely mind-blowing," said biochemist Johan Aqvist, a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, at a press conference following the announcement.
Read more:
| | | Researchers genetically engineered different species of one-millimeter-long Caenorhabditis elegans worms so certain neurons in their brains would become active or inactive in response to light. The light signals would prompt the worms to move. The scientists then gave control of the worms to an AI trained on the worms' behavior and movement patterns. The AI used light signals to control the movement of the worms and help them find food quickly.
Why this is interesting: In five out of six of the species the team tested, the AI directed the worms to food faster than if the worms had been left to their own devices with a randomly flashing light. The AI and the worm worked together in some cases: If the light signals controlled the worms into an obstacle, the worm would helpfully crawl around it.
What the experts say: Such "deep reinforcement learning," where AI analyzes strings of actions and outcomes and devises strategies based on that data, could be used in humans to treat Parkinson's or give humans new physical skills, says Harvard University biophysicist Chenguang Li. | | | SPONSORED CONTENT BY BIOFUTURE | Reimagine the Future of Healthcare at BioFuture | Apply to present at BioFuture Oct. 28-30. Where investors and innovators shape the future of healthcare. Learn more. | | | • Climate change caused Hurricane Helene to dump 50 percent more rain in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas than it would have otherwise, according to researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. This turned former "climate havens" into disaster sites, writes climate advocate Melissa Hanson, who recently evacuated her family out of Asheville, N.C.. "This disaster is a direct result of our failure to address the climate crisis," she says. "We must connect the dots between the images of houses floating away and the policies that support fossil fuels." | 6 min read | | | • A mosquito bite from his backyard in Washington, D.C., made Anthony Fauci the sickest he's ever been. | The New York Times | | | • Deadly fentanyl has been harder to find on the streets, perhaps due to a major disruption of its supply chain. | NPR | | | • The CERN particle collider will expel hundreds of scientists who are affiliated with Russian institutions by November 30. | Nature | | | Both the physics and chemistry Nobel Prizes this year went to researchers who developed new AI tools or used AI to achieve their breakthroughs. There's no doubt that AI will be transformative to science as an integral tool for discovery. In the near future, AI-facilitated research in all disciplines may become the norm, rather than the exception. | Thank you for being part of our circle of science-curious readers! Email me anytime: newsletters@sciam.com. See you tomorrow. | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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