Predicting Protein Functions

Proteins perform vital tasks in the body, such as regulating metabolism and transmitting signals. Researchers from the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and Heidelberg University have now developed an intelligent neural network that uses algorithms to predict the functions of proteins. The scientists used a trick to observe how the network makes its predictions. They applied their approach for example on the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool. The results of this research were published in the journal "Nature Machine Intelligence". In bioscientific research, algorithms are used to efficiently examine large amounts of data for patterns. Certain programmes are able to spot recurring structures in large protein molecules and then use this information to draw conclusions about what tasks these molecules perform in cells, for example, whether they function as gene switches or signalling molecules.