#153 – Dmitry Korkin: Evolution of Proteins, Viruses, Life, and AI Lex Fridman Podcast

Dmitry Korkin is a professor of bioinformatics and computational biology at WPI. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:

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EPISODE LINKS:

Dmitry's Website: http://korkinlab.org/

Dmitry's Twitter: https://twitter.com/dmkorkin



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OUTLINE:

Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

(00:00) - Introduction

(07:21) - Proteins and the building blocks of life

(14:23) - Spike protein

(21:11) - Coronavirus biological structure explained

(26:09) - Virus mutations

(32:39) - Evolution of proteins

(42:25) - Self-replicating computer programs

(50:02) - Origin of life

(57:34) - Extraterrestrial life in our solar system

(59:31) - Joshua Lederberg

(1:05:30) - Dendral

(1:08:24) - Why did expert systems fail?

(1:10:35) - AlphaFold 2

(1:32:13) - Will AI revolutionize art and music?

(1:39:12) - Multi-protein folding

(1:43:39) - Will AlphaFold 2 result in a Nobel Prize?

(1:46:10) - Will AI be used to engineer deadly viruses?

(2:01:17) - Book recommendations

(2:11:00) - Family

(2:13:38) - A poem in Russian