DeepMind opened access to AlphaFold, a model that finds the shapes of proteins, and to its output so far — a potential cornucopia for biomedical research.
What’s new: The research lab, a division of Google’s parent company Alphabet, made AlphaFold freely available. It also opened databases that contain hundreds of thousands of three-dimensional protein shapes.
Why it matters: Biologists could use these tools to better understand the function of proteins within the human body and develop new treatments for some of medicine’s most vexing maladies. Researchers already are using AlphaFold data to devise treatments for maladies including Covid-19 and several common, deadly tropical diseases.
We’re thinking: We applaud DeepMind’s decision to make both its landmark model and the model’s output available for further research. We urge other companies to do the same. 
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