Evolution and AI: Bringing New Chemistry to Life

Scientific research has revealed only a minuscule fraction of the enzymes that power life's essential chemical reactions, and an even tinier fraction of the vast universe of possible enzymes. Beyond the enzymes already annotated lie an astronomical number of biocatalysts that could enable sustainable chemical production, degrade toxic pollutants, and advance disease diagnosis and treatment. For the past few decades, protein engineers have used directed evolution to reshape enzymes by harnessing nature's existing diversity as a starting point and taking inspiration from nature's most powerful design process, evolution, to modify enzymes incrementally. Artificial intelligence (AI) methods have now revolutionizing how we understand and compose the language of life. I will discuss a vision for AI-driven enzyme discovery to unveil a world of enzymes that transcends biological evolution and perhaps offers a route to genetically encoding almost any chemistry.

Bio

Frances Arnold is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology. In 2018, she received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering directed evolution methods used to make enzymes for applications in sustainable chemistry across medicine, consumer products, agriculture, fuels and chemicals. She served as Co-Chair of the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST) under President Joe Biden.