Imagine a future where AI doesn't just read the code of life, but writes it. Bioengineering researcher Eric Nguyen explores how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing biology, opening doors to personalized medicine, bringing back extinct species, and even designing microbes for space exploration. This is a glimpse into how AI is changing our very understanding of life itself.
The Old Way vs. The New Way
For a long time, biologists have studied life by taking things apart, much like an engineer might disassemble a car to understand it. The Human Genome Project, for instance, spent over a decade mapping out our three billion DNA letters. The idea was that by reading and dissecting DNA, we could eventually get rid of all human diseases. But it turned out we didn't understand DNA as well as we thought.
As an engineer and AI researcher, Eric Nguyen's approach is different. He believes in learning by building and understanding by creating. His big idea? Instead of just reading DNA, we should be generating it. He sees DNA as a language that AI can learn to read, write, and ultimately, build with.
Generating Life From Scratch
This led Nguyen and his team to a bold goal: could they generate an entire genome from scratch using AI? Building life from the ground up. While the thought of feeding life's code into AI might seem a bit scary, Nguyen realized that if it were possible, it could lead to major breakthroughs in science and medicine.
DNA is a lot like a language, with its own grammar and structure, forming stories passed down through evolution. The challenge with DNA is its sheer scale and sensitivity. It's incredibly long, and even a tiny mistake – a single wrong letter out of billions – can lead to serious diseases.
To tackle this, Nguyen and his colleague Michael Poli developed an AI called Evo. Evo can generate DNA sequences that are 500 times longer than previous AI models, with a lot of detail. They trained Evo on a massive dataset of 80,000 whole genomes, aiming to create something like a 'ChatGPT for DNA'. You could prompt Evo with a description of the DNA you want, and it would generate new sequences.
Testing the AI's Creations
But how do you know if AI-generated DNA is any good? Unlike text from a chatbot, DNA isn't intuitive. You need a way to test if it will actually work. The team turned to a tool called CRISPR, which acts like molecular scissors for editing DNA, often used in gene therapy.
They asked Evo to design its own version of CRISPR from scratch. This was a complex system involving proteins and RNA. The team's biologists analyzed the generated DNA to see if it looked realistic and how its proteins folded, which gives clues about its function. But the real test was building these AI-designed CRISPRs in the lab to see if they could actually cut DNA.
The World's First AI-Designed CRISPR
Waiting for lab results can be nerve-wracking, but when the results came back, they were a success. The AI-designed CRISPRs successfully cut a single strand of DNA in the right spot, just like natural CRISPRs. This marked a major milestone: the world's first CRISPR system designed entirely by AI. Evo's generated DNA wasn't just realistic; it actually functioned.
The Future of Biology: Design, Not Just Discovery
With this success, the team pushed towards their moonshot goal of generating a whole genome. Evo managed to create hundreds of synthetic proteins and a genome that looked similar to natural ones, though it was still a rough sketch. However, this is just the beginning. Within years, AI is expected to generate complete, functional genomes, meaning AI could create new life.
This technology signals a shift in biology from discovery to design. What could this future look like?
Personalized Medicine: Imagine prompting an AI with your genome to find disease causes, predict drug reactions, and guide treatments tailored specifically to you.
Permanent Cures: Instead of just treating symptoms, we might alter our DNA to permanently cure genetic conditions. Gene therapies are already being approved for diseases like sickle cell anemia.
New Capabilities: We could potentially add new 'chapters' to our DNA, like a 24th chromosome designed by AI to fight diseases on demand.
Resurrecting Species: We've seen the idea in movies like 'Jurassic Park,' and researchers are already working on reconstructing genomes of extinct animals, with plans to bring back the woolly mammoth.
Life for Other Planets: AI could engineer microbes to help colonize Mars, making the planet more hospitable and enabling terraforming.
Balancing Innovation and Safety
Of course, there are concerns, particularly around biosecurity and the potential for AI to create more dangerous viruses. However, AI can also be used to defend against these threats. It's not a simple choice between innovation and safety; we need to embrace both. Stopping progress isn't practical. We must evolve with the technology, monitor its capabilities, and consider the futures we are enabling.
Humans have always sought to understand the world. But now, we're moving beyond just understanding life's code; we have the power to generate it. With AI, we're on the cusp of creating new medicines, advancing science, and even designing entirely new forms of life. The future of life is ours to build.