27 comments

  • seamossfet 5 hours ago ago

    The problem with models like this is they're built on very little actual training data we can trace back to verifiable protein data. The protein data back, and other sources of training data for stuff like this, has a lot of broken structures in them and "creative liberties" taken to infer a structure from instrument data. It's a very complex process that leaves a lot for interpretation.

    On top of that, we don't have a clear understanding on how certain positions (conformations) of a structure affect underlying biological mechanisms.

    Yes, these models can predict surprisingly accurate structures and sequences. Do we know if these outputs are biologically useful? Not quite.

    This technology is amazing, don't get me wrong, but to the average person they might see this and wonder why we can't go full futurism and solve every pathology with models like these.

    We've come a long way, but there's still a very very long way to go.

    • stardust2 3 hours ago ago

      How do we get more verifiable protein data? So even if we had better data, we don't yet understand how the structure impacts the biology?

  • maziyar 3 days ago ago
  • colingauvin 4 hours ago ago

    HN's blindspots never cease to amaze me.

    I am a structural biologist working in pharmaceutical design and this type of thing could be wildly useful (if it works).

  • rubicon33 8 hours ago ago

    Can someone explain what one might use this model for? As a developer with a casual interest in biology it would be fun to play with but honestly not sure what I would do

    • colechristensen 8 hours ago ago

      You can get your feet wet with genetic engineering for surprisingly little money.

      This guy shows a lot of how it's done: https://www.youtube.com/@thethoughtemporium

      Basically you can design/edit/inject custom genes into things and see real results spending on the scale of $100-$1000.

      • someuser54541 8 hours ago ago

        Is there something like this in text/readable format?

      • _zoltan_ 5 hours ago ago

        My main concern is using fungi. If it ends up in my lungs I'm most likely screwed, right?

        • colechristensen 4 hours ago ago

          This is the classic meme https://www.reddit.com/r/labrats/comments/mmv2ig/lab_strains...

          Lab strains of things tend to be extremely sensitive and not human adapted. You shouldn't study and modify human-infecting organisms in your basement anyway. While you shouldn't ignore protective equipment and proper procedure... paranoia about infecting yourself with a lab leak isn't warranted.

        • nurettin 4 hours ago ago

          Yes, but most students produce their best work while infected.

  • khalic 9 hours ago ago

    > In Progress: CodonJEPA

    JEPA is going to break the whole industry :D

    • digdugdirk 8 hours ago ago

      Can you explain this? I haven't heard of JEPA, and from a quick search it seems to be vision/robotics based?

      • khalic 8 hours ago ago

        It’s a self supervised learning architecture, and it’s pretty much universal. The loss function runs on embeddings, and some other smart architectural choices allover. Worth diving into for a few hours, Yann LeCun gives some interesting talks about it

      • lukeinator42 8 hours ago ago
  • simianwords 9 hours ago ago

    What makes these Domain specific models work when we don’t have good domain models for health care, chemistry, economics and so on

    • colechristensen 8 hours ago ago

      >we don’t have good domain models for health care, chemistry, economics and so on

      Who says we don't?

      • simianwords 8 hours ago ago

        Examples please?

        • colechristensen 7 hours ago ago

          No, it's really simple to search for domain specific models being used "in production" all over the place

  • yieldcrv 8 hours ago ago

    Distributing the load on this will probably be infinitely more useful than “folding at home”

  • HocusLocus 9 hours ago ago

    gray goo of the future

  • skyskys 6 hours ago ago

    hmmmm seems like some fake hype.