Technological progress is advancing at an unprecedented rate, driven by diverse sources like companies and academia.
Institutions like Bell Labs in the past and present-day industrial R&D labs showcase the benefits of structured, well-funded research initiatives.
Non-profit organizations focusing on open science are emerging as crucial players in the scientific community, promoting collaboration, transparency, and interdisciplinary advancement.
Biology is complex and evolving, with AI playing a crucial role in advancing our understanding and abilities in the field.
Biological research consists of two main pillars: discovery and design, with a focus on broadening our knowledge and engineering biology to suit human needs.
Collaboration between academia, research organizations, and commercial entities is key to pushing forward progress in AI-driven biology.
Computers are learning biology by processing numerical representations of biological knowledge, inspired by progress in AI for natural language processing.
Historically, models for biology have transitioned from bottom-up approaches like Watson & Crick's DNA structure model to top-down approaches observing emergent properties of biological systems.
Protein language models are being developed, trained through self-supervision to predict amino acids in sequences, showing potential for applications in understanding protein sequences and beyond.
Technology and biology are blending together in a field known as TechBio.
TechBio emphasizes an engineering-first approach to biology, AI-driven exploration of biological data, and a focus on efficient drug discovery.
The blending of technology and biology is leading to advancements in DNA sequencing, digital biology with AI applications, and rapid development of vaccines and drugs.
Democratization of AI tools in computational biology is on the rise, with an emphasis on accessibility and open-source principles.
Key aspects of democratization include availability of code, model parameters, permissive licensing, and performance optimization.
Advancements in democratized tools like AlphaFold and ESM models are driving progress in computational biology, balancing between scientific innovation and economic opportunities.