DeepMind's latest AI tool could help create lifesaving cures

London-based AI lab DeepMind started this work toward its "Google search for protein structures" in 2020. In 2021, its AlphaFold tool documented 350,000 protein structures, including all those known contained in the human genome. The latest update represents proteins from practically all of Earth's species. The data it has revealed is a boon to drug and vaccine discovery in particular, where scientists need to know the intricate structures of proteins to understand diseases and create new medicines. Proteins are complex and vital substances made up of long chains of amino acids, and are responsible for almost all the tasks undertaken inside cells.