Did you know that approximately 91% of all the plastic ever produced has never been recycled? Most of it ends up in landfills, while a significant portion pollutes our oceans. Even when plastic is recycled, the process degrades the material, making it less recyclable in the future.
Researchers around the world, such as Paula Blázquez-Sánchez from the University of Leipzig, Germany, and César A. Ramírez-Sarmiento from Pontificia Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile, are using Google DeepMind’s AI tool, AlphaFold, to accelerate scientific research in engineering and identifying plastic-eating enzymes.
AlphaFold has been a game-changer for these researchers, allowing them to spend less time predicting enzyme structures and more time solving the plastic pollution crisis.
One day, this work could significantly reduce plastic waste worldwide. Research is still unfolding…
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