Post 18: The first computer designed protein 🖥️

Once, somewhere in the world, someone said, “What if we make a doll?” but in protein version. And from there, the protein known as “Top7” was born, the first protein completely designed by a computer, with a folding shape that was entirely new and (very) stable. Its design involved understanding the interactions that each of its 93 amino acids would have, so that it would meet the energetic and geometric conditions to fold correctly.

Nearly 20 years after the article was published, Mike Tyka built a sculpture in its honor, showing its protein structure in the form of secondary structure (gold) and its globular shape (purple).

Refs:

1. (original paper of Top7) Design of a Novel Globular Protein Fold with Atomic-Level Accuracy
2. Mike Tyka’s art gallery
3. Top7 structure