AI with 500 million years of evolutionary data creates unseen genetic sequence

An artificial intelligence fed with 500 million years worth of evolutionary data has produced a previously unseen genetic sequence.

AI with 500 million years of evolutionary data creates unseen genetic sequence
Comment IconFacebook IconX IconReddit Icon
Tech and Science Editor
Published
1 minute & 30 seconds read time
TL;DR: An artificial intelligence system, utilizing 500 million years of evolutionary data, has generated a novel genetic sequence that has not been observed before.

Researchers have plugged 500 million years worth of evolutionary data into an AI and asked it to create genetic code. The results were surprising as the AI produced protein sequences never-before-seen by researchers.

AI with 500 million years of evolutionary data creates unseen genetic sequence 132132

The project is headed by scientists at the EvolutionaryScale and Arc Institute, and a new paper published in the journal Science details their findings. According to the team, the new AI model called ESM3 is capable of simulating brand-new protein sequences that can be used by researchers to develop a deeper understanding of how proteins work and ultimately be used in various scientific fields such as health.

As with every AI tool, the underlying technology requires large swaths of data for it to be functional, which is why, to create ESM3, the team trained the AI on 771 billion tokens that generated 3.15 billion protein sequences, 236 million protein instructions, and 539 million protein annotations.

AI with 500 million years of evolutionary data creates unseen genetic sequence 132132

According to the team, feeding this much data into the AI was like stuffing 500 million years worth of evolutionary data and knowledge into a system. The end result was an AI that can now simulate evolution and, in particular, has created a virtual protein that had a previously unseen genetic sequence, which researchers have named esmGFP. With advanced AI systems being capable of generating previously unseen genetic codes researchers hope to learn more about the evolution of human biology.

Photo of the SAMSUNG 15.6" Galaxy Book4 Edge Business Laptop
Best Deals: SAMSUNG 15.6" Galaxy Book4 Edge Business Laptop
Country flag Today 7 days ago 30 days ago
$849.99 USD -
Buy
$1784 USD -
Buy
$849.99 USD -
Buy
£1496.95 -
Buy
$849.99 USD -
Buy
* Prices last scanned on 2/6/2025 at 9:16 pm CST - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission from any sales.
NEWS SOURCES:science.org, bgr.com

Tech and Science Editor

Email IconX IconLinkedIn Icon

Jak joined the TweakTown team in 2017 and has since reviewed 100s of new tech products and kept us informed daily on the latest science, space, and artificial intelligence news. Jak's love for science, space, and technology, and, more specifically, PC gaming, began at 10 years old. It was the day his dad showed him how to play Age of Empires on an old Compaq PC. Ever since that day, Jak fell in love with games and the progression of the technology industry in all its forms.

Related Topics

Newsletter Subscription