Why building new proteins from scratch is our new superpower

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David Baker |

TED Membership

• June 2025

The rapidly evolving field of protein design is revealing solutions to some of the world’s greatest problems, whether it's blocking a virus, breaking down a pollutant or creating brand-new materials. In conversation with TED’s Whitney Pennington Rodgers, biochemist David Baker explores his team’s Nobel Prize-winning work using AI to design new proteins with functions never before seen in nature — achieving breakthroughs that have fundamentally changed the future of science. (This conversation was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. TED Membership is the best way to support and engage with the big ideas you love from TED. To learn more, visit ted.com/membership.)