Top 10 Breakthrough Technologies in 2022, 4 From Biomedical Field

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Top 10 Breakthrough Technologies in 2022, 4

From Biomedical Field

On February 23, MIT Technology Review, a world-renowned technology
media, announced the "2022 10 Breakthrough Technologies", with 4 from
biomedical field. They are not only based on addressing the current COVID-19
crisis, but also benefit large numbers of people in poor areas and pave the way
for future breakthroughs.

1. COVID-19 Variant Tracking

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, whenever we talk about
science, people will always think of vaccines and drugs that have come out,
but they will ignore another important scientific fact - the novel coronavirus is
the most sequenced object in human history, more than human beings
themselves, also surpassing pathogens of concern such as influenza and HIV.

When the test swab is stuck in the nose, the person being tested may not
expect that some of those positive samples will be sent for additional genome
sequencing. The purpose is simple - to see how the genome of the
novel coronavirus has changed. If a large number of similar mutations
suddenly appear in a short period of time, it is likely to herald the emergence
of a new variant. According to public data, the genome sequencing
results of the novel coronavirus have exceeded 7 million copies. Similar

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variants of Alpha, Delta, and Omicron were discovered this way, according to a
press release from MIT Technology Review.

While sequencing cannot tell us where the virus will evolve in the future, it is
precisely because of this that we should do a better job of monitoring for
mutations in the novel coronavirus, so that we can detect new mutations early
in the future. A scientific warning before it spreads around the world.

2. AI For Protein Folding

Artificial intelligence (AI) is making headlines again in 2021. In July, the
journals Nature and Science published articles describing two AI models that
can accurately predict protein structures. Then a series of AI tools called
AlphaFold broke new ground, predicting the structure of 98.5% of human
proteins. At the end of 2021, Science named it the scientific breakthrough
of the year.

The press release of MIT Technology Review pointed out that almost all
biochemical processes in the human body are inseparable from the
participation of proteins. The biological macromolecules consist of a long chain
of amino acids folded into complex three-dimensional structures, and if their
properties can be understood, it may be possible to understand their
function and even pave the way for the development of drugs. For years,
scientists have tried to use computational tools to predict the structure of
proteins. However, the accuracy of these works is difficult to match with the
manually obtained structures.

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This is where artificial intelligence breaks through. Through deep learning, the
system was able to predict protein structure more accurately, and this is the
first time that computers have produced protein structure data of close to
human experimental quality. The latter is more accurate, but also more
time-consuming. The real impact of these efforts may take years to fully
manifest. But its potential transformative potential is obvious to all.

3. Malaria Vaccine

Malaria kills more than 600,000 people worldwide each year, the vast majority
of whom are children under the age of five. This deadly mosquito-borne
disease is a huge social burden in impoverished Africa.

Mosquirix, brought by GlaxoSmithKline, is a malaria vaccine. In 800,000
children in Kenya, Malawi, Ghana and other countries, the vaccine provided
50% protection against severe malaria within a year of vaccination. Although
the protective efficacy of the vaccine declines over time, public health
officials consider it as an important breakthrough that will change the way
malaria is controlled. If the protective efficacy is converted, then we can
get a more intuitive result - compared with existing drugs, this vaccine is
expected to reduce malaria deaths by up to 70%.

In other respects, this vaccine also has its milestone significance. This is the
first vaccine developed against parasites. As multicellular organisms, parasites
are 500 to 1,000 times larger than the genomes of ordinary viruses or bacteria,
and are more likely to mutate and escape the monitoring of the immune
system. The GlaxoSmithKline vaccine targets some surface proteins of the

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malaria parasite early in its life, supplemented with molecules that activate the
immune system and promote the production of antibodies.

4. A Pill For COVID-19

In the early days of the novel coronavirus epidemic, many people were
exploring different off-the-shelf treatments, trying to find a panacea to control
the virus as soon as possible. In retrospect, most of these treatments were
ineffective against the novel coronavirus and did not help to control the
disease, but these measures also reflected a simple idea - people expect
easy ways to treat the disease. It is best to take a few pills to clear the
new coronavirus from the body.

Last year, series of breakthroughs were made in novel COVID-19 oral antiviral
treatment from companies including Merck and Pfizer. On December 22,
2021, the U.S. FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA)
for Pfizer’s Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets, co-packaged for
oral use) for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and
pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kilograms or
about 88 pounds) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 testing, and who
are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization
or death.

In terms of mechanism, they are not obtained by accident, but based on
long-term scientific research - people have known that the core replication

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mechanism of such viruses, and inhibiting some of these key enzymes
can prevent the virus from replicating.

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References:
[1] 2022 10 Breakthrough Technologies, Retrieved February 23, 2022,
from https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/02/23/1045416/10-breakthrough-technolog
ies-2022/
[2] Covid variant tracking, Retrieved February 23, 2022,
from https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/02/23/1044975/covid-19-variant-tracking-s
cientists/
[3] AI for protein folding, Retrieved February 23, 2022,
from https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/02/23/1044957/ai-protein-folding-deepmind
/
[4] Malaria vaccine, Retrieved February 23, 2022,
from https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/02/23/1044957/ai-protein-folding-deepmind
/
[5] A pill for covid, Retrieved February 23, 2022,
from https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/02/23/1044936/covid-19-pill-pandemic/