More than 3.5 billion years ago, life on Earth began with chemical reactions that led to the creation of RNA, DNA, and proteins—the building blocks of life. These molecules drive everything from cellular energy production to information processing, underpinning both health and disease. Despite their complexity, biology remains a language humanity is still learning to decode.
ESM3, a groundbreaking generative AI model developed to transform our understanding of biology. Trained on billions of proteins from diverse environments—rainforests, oceans, and hydrothermal vents—ESM3 integrates protein sequence, structure, and function into a single model. With 98 billion parameters, it represents a leap in computational power, simulating evolution on a scale equivalent to 500 million years.
Key Highlights of ESM3:
- Generative Model: Simulates evolutionary processes to create new proteins, such as esmGFP, a fluorescent protein 58% unique from its closest counterpart.
- Multimodal Training: Bridges sequence, structure, and function by tokenizing complex protein properties, unlocking novel capabilities.
- Scalable Insights: Larger datasets and models lead to emergent abilities, outperforming domain-specific models.
ESM3 not only promises advances in synthetic biology and biotechnology but also emphasizes responsible development, transparency, and accountability. This milestone marks the dawn of a new era where biology becomes programmable, enabling breakthroughs that were once unimaginable.
Reference: Evolutionaryscale
