PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – When University of Washington Biochemistry Professor David Baker began researching how to design proteins from scratch, he and his research team were in the “lunatic fringe.” Now, he has a Nobel Prize.
Proteins are the “workhorses of biology,” and are essential to cell function, UW explained in a press release announcing Baker’s win on Wednesday.
For decades, Baker and his colleagues have used computing power to learn how 3-D shapes of proteins determine how they function.
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“Proteins are the miniature machines that carry out all the important jobs in our bodies and in all living things,” Baker explained during a press conference. “Before our work, the only proteins that we knew about were the proteins that we discovered in nature.”
“What we’ve learned how to do is design completely new proteins that have new functions. And so now we’re working on problems like designing proteins to attack cancers and acting much more specifically and precisely in the body so it can be safer and more effective than current treatments,” Baker said of his research — noting proteins can be designed for an array of medical issues, such as attacking Alzheimer’s disease or developing a universal flu shot. Proteins can also be designed for environmental issues, such as breaking down plastic or other pollutants.