Author thread: https://twitter.com/ProfBuehlerMIT/status/175628414213464913...

Code and weights: https://huggingface.co/lamm-mit/ProteinMechanicsDiffusionDes...

Maybe off topic, but what means "de novo"? (in Portuguese it means "again" but I can't make sense of this)

This article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_novo_protein_structure_pred... also doesn't mention the etymology

"From new". You see it in biochem when there are multiple ways to synthesize something and one of them starts from raw(er) materials. e.g. triglycerides can be made from free fatty acids or can start all the way from glucose. The pathway that starts with glucose is called "de novo lipogenesis".

This is an interesting and novel paper. Speaking as a biophysicist, I see potential applications in the regenerative medicine space with cartilage and/or joint replacement. There could be also applications in the field of dermatology with aging therapies or skin grafts. More speculatively, one can imagine scientists developing superior types of joints or connective tissues than the ones evolution has landed upon.

A question for any novel approach like this - every single usecase needs its own safety and clinical trial before we can see it in action on humans?

Anything this synthesizes will have a 10-15 year minimum waiting period, I assume?

I estimate at least 20 years before we see practical applications. Biology is complicated, developing effecting therapies often even more so. But we have to start somewhere.

What's the potential to weaponize such advances, say by creating novel prions and so on? I assume powers that be are already playing with the tech hidden away in their bunkers?

Probably limited as far as prions go. This particular advancement is in proteins that have sought-after mechanical properties like spider silk.

If you wanted to cultivate prions as a bioweapon, you could already grab them from reservoir sources such as deer and cattle.