Artificial intelligence is reshaping biology, delivering breakthroughs at an unprecedented pace, and DeepMind, a Google-owned AI lab, is leading the charge with three revolutionary tools: AlphaFold 2, AlphaFold 3, and the newly launched AlphaGenome.

In 2020, AlphaFold 2 cracked a 50-year-old challenge by predicting the 3D shapes of proteins from their amino acid sequences. Proteins are vital to life, and their shape determines their function. This breakthrough, has sped up drug discovery and protein engineering, letting researchers worldwide identify drug targets quickly and sparking countless discoveries.

AlphaFold 3, launched in 2024, went further, predicting how proteins, DNA, RNA, and small molecules interact in 3D. This glimpse into the molecular dance inside cells has boosted drug design and shed light on genetic diseases. It focuses on physical molecular connections but doesn’t explore their broader effects on cell behavior.

In June 2025, DeepMind unveiled AlphaGenome, a game-changer focused on gene regulation. By analyzing DNA sequences, it predicts the roles of regulatory elements like enhancers, crucial for understanding diseases caused by faulty gene activity and for developing gene therapies or personalized medicine. Unlike the AlphaFold models, which map molecular structures, AlphaGenome dives into the functional “grammar” of the genome.

These tools don’t compete—they work together. For example, AlphaFold 2 can predict the 3D structure of a protein, AlphaFold 3 might show a protein binding to DNA, while AlphaGenome predicts the effect on gene function. This synergy could lead to virtual experiments, cutting lab costs and speeding up discoveries in drugs and therapies.

Source.