🔥 Mammalian Cells Evolve Themselves!

Dear reader,

We are definitely in the era of rapid AI development - new tools for biological research are coming out every single week!

This week, we have researchers from the University of Sydney releasing PROTEUS (Protein Evolution Using Selection).

Let’s get into it →

Australian "Biological AI" Evolves Proteins in Human Cells

Researchers at the University of Sydney have unveiled PROTEUS (PROTein Evolution Using Selection), a groundbreaking platform that brings directed evolution into mammalian cells—replacing traditional bacterial systems. By using chimeric virus-like vesicles to introduce genetic diversity and prevent system "cheating," PROTEUS enables rapid cycles of mutation and natural selection directly within mammalian cells, generating molecules with tailored functions in just weeks.

Key development

• Demonstrated improvements include optimized gene-regulating proteins, drug-responsive enzymes, and nanobodies that detect DNA damage—key to cancer diagnostics.

• The system is open-source, validated by independent labs, and set to accelerate developments in gene therapies, CRISPR tools, enzymes, mRNA medicines, and beyond

Our take: PROTEUS transforms mammalian cells into self-optimizing labs, massively boosting our ability to engineer therapeutic molecules. This could not only speed up treatment development but also unlock entirely new classes of precision medicines.

Takeaways

Why It Matters

Direct relevance: Evolves molecules inside cells analogous to human biology, increasing translational potential.

Lightning-fast innovation: Reduces timelines from years to weeks—game-changing for drug discovery and therapeutic design.

Biotech meets AI: Harnesses evolutionary principles like machine learning, creating a powerful tool for biomedical research

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