R&D cloud platform provider Benchling has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) programme to help scientists predict 3D structures of novel proteins.
The company has launched a beta version of its AlphaFold programme – an AI platform developed by DeepMind that can predict the 3D structure of a protein from an amino acid sequence. Those accessing the beta will be able to select any amino acid sequence stored in Benchling’s R&D cloud, request a 3D structure for it, and visualise the results in Benchling’s platform.
Users can view and interact with the 3D image alongside the primary sequence. The structure files can also be downloaded for more sophisticated modelling using third party applications. Scientists may readily share these protein structure files with other teammates, further extending the reach and utility of the data output.
Official comments
“Our team gets excited about two things: science and bringing software to science,” said Ashu Singhal, president and co-founder of Benchling. “By making AlphaFold available to the biotech industry at the click of a button, scientists will be able to seamlessly experiment with this exciting advancement and find new ways to leverage AlphaFold output in their research. While the use cases for AlphaFold are still being explored and proven, Benchling’s goal with its beta feature is to support its community.”
