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Artificial intelligence accelerating enzyme engineering for a recycling revolution
Researchers at our Centre for Enzyme Innovation have been experimenting with nature ’ s own solution to plastic pollution .
When a group in Japan discovered an enzyme that had evolved to ‘ eat ’ plastic , researchers from Portsmouth set to work characterising and understanding this novel enyzme , in order to engineer improved versions .
The goal : an enzyme that can be used in industry to break down the most polluting single-use plastic rapidly . It ’ s a key step in creating a circular plastics economy , with recycling at its heart .
A new partnership with pioneering artificial intelligence ( AI ) company , DeepMind , brings the big breakthrough closer . Portsmouth researchers are making the most of DeepMind ’ s AlphaFold system – an AI that predicts highly accurate 3D structure of proteins .
With an exciting new library of templates courtesy of AlphaFold , our researchers can take a huge leap forward in engineering faster , more stable and cheaper enzymes for plastic recycling .
What ’ s more , this partnership opens the door to a world of new opportunities for groundbreaking research combining AI with experimental technologies .
Hearing the orangutans ’ call to save their lives
In an isolated pocket of Indonesia , 800 orangutans were at risk from a hydro dam development . Bearded and frizzy-haired , they looked different from their closest neighbours . The International Union for Conservation of Nature called in a team of scientists with diverse expertise , including Portsmouth ’ s Dr Marina Davila- Ross , to discover just how different these apes are .
An expert in the acoustic signals of animal communication , Dr Davila- Ross analysed the frequencies of other Indonesian orangutans ’ calls . Adult males can produce two sounds at the same time – a rare trait known as biphonation . Dr Davila-Ross measured those sounds with a sonogram , revealing the distinctive ‘ shape ’ of the calls by mapping the audio frequencies .
Her findings were compared to calls of the isolated apes . Alongside studies by her fellow experts into genetics , morphology and behaviour , it became clear : this was a previously undiscovered species , with its own distinctive voice . And it was endangered by the proposed development . The dam project has been paused while further research explores ways to protect this unique ape population . Thanks to expert research , these orangutans ’ calls helped to save their lives .
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