full transcript

From the Ted Talk by David Baker: 5 challenges we could solve by designing new proteins

Unscramble the Blue Letters


This is similar to the process that our Stone Age ancestors used to make tolos and other implements from the stciks and stones that we found in the world around us. But humans did not learn to fly by modifying birds.

(Laughter)

Instead, scientists, inspired by birds, uncovered the principles of araimndeycos. Engineers then used those pnlieprics to degsin custom flying machines. In a similar way, we've been working for a nbumer of years to uovecnr the fundamental principles of protein folding and encoding those principles in the computer program cealld Rosetta. We made a breakthrough in recent yeras. We can now design completely new proteins from scratch on the computer. Once we've designed the new proeitn, we encode its amino acid sequence in a synthetic gene. We have to make a synthetic gene because since the protein is completely new, there's no gene in any organism on earth which currently exists that encodes it.

Open Cloze


This is similar to the process that our Stone Age ancestors used to make _____ and other implements from the ______ and stones that we found in the world around us. But humans did not learn to fly by modifying birds.

(Laughter)

Instead, scientists, inspired by birds, uncovered the principles of ____________. Engineers then used those __________ to ______ custom flying machines. In a similar way, we've been working for a ______ of years to _______ the fundamental principles of protein folding and encoding those principles in the computer program ______ Rosetta. We made a breakthrough in recent _____. We can now design completely new proteins from scratch on the computer. Once we've designed the new _______, we encode its amino acid sequence in a synthetic gene. We have to make a synthetic gene because since the protein is completely new, there's no gene in any organism on earth which currently exists that encodes it.

Solution


  1. tools
  2. called
  3. sticks
  4. protein
  5. years
  6. principles
  7. design
  8. number
  9. uncover
  10. aerodynamics

Original Text


This is similar to the process that our Stone Age ancestors used to make tools and other implements from the sticks and stones that we found in the world around us. But humans did not learn to fly by modifying birds.

(Laughter)

Instead, scientists, inspired by birds, uncovered the principles of aerodynamics. Engineers then used those principles to design custom flying machines. In a similar way, we've been working for a number of years to uncover the fundamental principles of protein folding and encoding those principles in the computer program called Rosetta. We made a breakthrough in recent years. We can now design completely new proteins from scratch on the computer. Once we've designed the new protein, we encode its amino acid sequence in a synthetic gene. We have to make a synthetic gene because since the protein is completely new, there's no gene in any organism on earth which currently exists that encodes it.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
protein design 7
amino acid 6
amino acids 5
immune system 3
acid sequences 3
protein folding 3
synthetic gene 3
total number 3
remarkable biological 2
acid sequence 2
stone age 2
computational protein 2
challenges today 2
designed protein 2
vaccine candidates 2
design revolution 2
bell laboratories 2
immune cells 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
amino acid sequences 3
amino acid sequence 2
protein design revolution 2

Important Words


  1. acid
  2. aerodynamics
  3. age
  4. amino
  5. ancestors
  6. birds
  7. breakthrough
  8. called
  9. completely
  10. computer
  11. custom
  12. design
  13. designed
  14. earth
  15. encode
  16. encodes
  17. encoding
  18. engineers
  19. exists
  20. fly
  21. flying
  22. folding
  23. fundamental
  24. gene
  25. humans
  26. implements
  27. inspired
  28. laughter
  29. learn
  30. machines
  31. modifying
  32. number
  33. organism
  34. principles
  35. process
  36. program
  37. protein
  38. proteins
  39. rosetta
  40. scientists
  41. scratch
  42. sequence
  43. similar
  44. sticks
  45. stone
  46. stones
  47. synthetic
  48. tools
  49. uncover
  50. uncovered
  51. working
  52. world
  53. years