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Artificial intelligence predicts protein structure
The researchers announced in July that they had used the revolutionary artificial intelligence (AI) network AlphaFold to predict the structure of more than 200 million proteins from about 1 million species, covering nearly all known proteins of all organisms whose genomes are preserved in the database. The inventor of AlphaFold comes from DeepMind, a London-based artificial intelligence company owned by Alphabet, which won this year's $3 million Breakthrough Award, one of the most lucrative awards in science.
AlphaFold isn't the only player in this space. California-based Meta (formerly Facebook) developed its own artificial intelligence network, ESMFold, and used it to predict the shape of about 600 million possible proteins from bacteria, viruses and other microbes that have not yet been isolated or cultured. Scientists are using these tools to design proteins that can form the basis of new drugs and vaccines.
Monkeypox is spreading worldwide
Monkeypox virus (shown here as a color transmission electron micrograph) has been associated with smallpox virus. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Science Photo Library
The rapid spread of monkeypox (recently renamed "MPOX" by the World Health Organization) caught many scientists off guard this year . Previously, the virus was mainly confined to Central and West Africa, but since May this year, cases of infection have begun to appear in Europe, the United States, Canada and many other countries, mainly young and middle-aged men who have sex with men . The virus was linked to smallpox, and the strains circulating rarely caused severe illness or death . But its rapid spread led the World Health Organization to declare the global outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern" in July, the organization's highest level of alert.
As cases surged, researchers began working to understand the dynamics of the disease. Studies have confirmed that the virus is mainly transmitted through repeated skin-to-skin contact, and trials of possible treatments are ongoing. In some countries, existing smallpox vaccines are also used to suppress the virus . Six months after MPOX infections first began to increase, vaccination efforts and behavioral changes appear to have curbed its spread in Europe and the United States. Researchers are now predicting a range of scenarios – most promisingly, the virus disappearing in non-endemic countries in the coming months or years.
Omicron's descendants caused the pandemic
This year, Omegal and its descendants dominated all other coronavirus variants . This fast-spreading strain was first detected in Southern Africa in November 2021 and has rapidly spread across the globe . From the early days, it became clear that Omicron was more successful at evading the immune system's defenses than previous variants, meaning the vaccine was less effective . During the year, Omicron emerged a different set of immune evasion branches, making it difficult for scientists to predict future waves of infections.
Vaccines based on the Omicron variant have been rolled out in some countries in the hope that they will provide greater protection than previous vaccines, but early data suggest that the additional benefits are not much . Nasal sprays against COVID-19 have also become a tool in the vaccine arsenal. The purpose of this is to stop the virus where it first took root. In September, China and India approved a needle-free COVID-19 vaccine administered through the nose or mouth, and many similar vaccines are in various stages of development.
Organs from pigs are transplanted into humans
In January, surgeons in Baltimore, Maryland, transplanted the first pig heart into a human .
In January, U. S. handyman David Bennett became the first person to receive a genetically modified pig heart transplant, a crucial first step in determining whether an animal can provide an organ source for those who need them. Bennett lived another 8 weeks after the transplant, but the researchers were impressed that he lived so long because the human immune system can attack non-GMO pig organs in minutes. A few months later, two U. S. research groups separately reported that they transplanted pig kidneys into three people who had been legally dead because they had no brain function. The organ does not have a rejection reaction and begins to produce urine . The next step, the researchers say, is clinical trials that thoroughly test the procedure in live people.
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