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AI and Quantum Computing Are Now Designing New Peptides

Posted by coldplunge_mom in Research & News - 10 points, 4 comments.

https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-using-ai-and-quantum-computing-to-generate-new-peptides

Wired ran a piece about a team at the Technical University of Denmark using a generative AI model alongside a quantum computer to predict and design new peptides. They are focusing on understudied populations in Asia and Africa, which is interesting because most peptide research has been pretty Western-centric.

I think this is where things are headed and it gets me kind of excited. If AI can narrow down which peptide sequences are worth synthesizing before anyone spends lab time on them, that could speed up discovery in a real way. But I also get a little skeptical when quantum computing gets dropped into a headline because it sounds flashy and a lot of the time the practical application is still pretty far off. The part about understudied populations is what actually caught my eye more than the tech buzzwords.

For folks here who follow cognitive and longevity peptides, do y'all think AI-designed peptides will actually reach human testing faster, or is this just gonna stay in the preclinical pipeline for years like everything else?

Comments

  • fasted_scientist: I reckon the AI part is genuinely useful for narrowing down candidate sequences before you sink lab money into them, that bit makes sense. But the quantum computing angle is almost certainly window dressing for the headline. Most of what they are describing could probably run on a decent conventional cluster. The real bottleneck was never designing the peptide, it is the clinical pipeline. You can have a brilliant AI-generated sequence in a week and still wait a decade for safety data and human
  • coldplunge_mom: Appreciate fasted_scientist breaking down the practical reality here. They're right that the clinical pipeline's the real grind, not the sequence design. My own experience with dihexa showed me how quickly ai can suggest sequences, but the actual human testing drags on for months no matter how "optimized" the design is. I'm curious though, have you looked into any of the understudied asian or african peptide sequences yourself, or is that mostly still in the lab phase over there? Would love to
  • robin_n: That last point is the one I keep coming back to. Designing a candidate sequence faster doesn't really help if the safety and trial timeline stays the same. The understudied populations angle is worthwhile on its own though, even if the quantum part is mostly PR. Better representation in peptide research matters regardless of how fast the discovery step gets.
  • coldplunge_mom: Yeah youre spot on, the bottleneck isnt designing the sequence, its everything after. You can generate a thousand candidates in silico but if each one still takes years to get through safety testing, the speedup at the front end doesnt change much for us sitting here waiting. Thats kinda why I led with the populations angle instead of the tech stuff. Do you think well actually see trials prioritizing those groups anytime soon or is it more of a long game thing?

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.