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Researchers at Hanyang University are developing tiny microbot swarms that connect, move and change shape when controlled by magnets. While still in early development, researchers believe they could eventually be used for tasks like delivering medicine, clearing blockages, or even environmental cleanup.

Google really wants you to download its Gemini app. The tech giant is pulling the AI tool from its iOS search app — you know, the Google app — in an apparent effort to push you to the Gemini app.

The tech giant alerted customers to the change in an email.

It read, in part, via 9to5 Google:

"We're making some changes to create an even better Gemini experience on iOS. Gemini is now available as its own app, and that's now the best place to use Gemini. To continue using Gemini, download the new Gemini app from the App Store.

With the Gemini app, you'll have access to all of the same features and more."

If an iOS user tries to access Gemini in the Google app, they're greeted with a message reading, "Gemini now has its own app" and a button to download the standalone app.

Credit: Screenshot: Google

Obviously, the Google app is widely used, so it's interesting that the tech giant would want to push users to Gemini's standalone app. But for better or worse, if you want to use Google's AI tool, you better download its app.

Do you remember the AI wearable gadgets that were all the rage last year? Two of the biggest physical products just resurfaced this week after falling out of the limelight following underwhelming releases: Humane and Rabbit.

Humane announced it was killing its Ai Pin less than one year after launching it, effectively confirming it was a failure.

Rabbit, however, appears to still be kicking. In fact, the company just released a preview video that showed off a demonstration of its new Android AI agent.

Rabbit's Android AI agent is able to control an Android device based on the prompts provided by the user. According to Rabbit, with these capabilities its Android agent is able to change app notifications in the device's settings, search YouTube, add ingredients from one app to a list on Google Keep, generate a poem using AI and then sent it in WhatsApp, download a game from Google Play and learn how to play it, and more.

The company says this Android AI agent builds on the work that they showed off last year involving its web agent LAM Playground.

SEE ALSO: Humane has killed its Ai Pin less than a year after its release

Watching the video, it's clear that the Android AI agent is very much a work in progress. The AI generally delivers on each user request but with varying degrees of competence. The whole thing is pretty slow though. It's unclear exactly why you would use an AI agent to do these specific tasks mentioned in the video as these are things that can be accomplished by the user basically in the same timeframe it takes to enter the prompt and have the AI deliver it.

The odd thing about the whole video is that the company's actual product that it sold to customers, the wearable AI agent known as Rabbit R1, is just sitting unused on a desk. It serves no purpose. The product that's actually available and being sold to customers for $199 is not involved in the performance of any of these tasks being demoed. 

After seeing Humane crash and burn so quickly, this video shows that Rabbit is still alive and very much working on AI products, so that's a good thing for consumers who have invested in the product already. For now.

SAVE 32%: The Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 (black) is on sale at Amazon for $135.44, down from the standard price of $199.99. That's a savings of $64.55 and the lowest price we've ever seen at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Ultimate Ears Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 (black) $135.44 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $64.55 Get Deal

There's a cardinal rule that you shouldn't dunk your electronics in water. At least, that used to be the case. These days our phones, e-readers, and cameras are often waterproof. That's fantastic, of course, but there's one electronic that's gotta be waterproof in order to be functional and that's a portable speaker. If you don't have a powerful and waterproof speaker to enjoy poolside, check out this deal at Amazon.

As of Feb. 20, the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 (black) is on sale at Amazon for just $135.44, down from the normal price of $199.99. That's a 32% discount that takes $64.55 off the list price. It's also the lowest price we've ever spotted at Amazon. Be sure to grab the black colorway to get this discount.

SEE ALSO: Tons of camping gear is up to 50% off ahead of spring and summer weather

With bragging rights of getting up to 20 hours of playtime, the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 uses 360-degree sound to fill your party or room with tunes. It's great for a bedroom dance party, but it's also well suited for your summer trip to the river since Ultimate Ears considers the speaker to be "virtually indestructible."

The Megaboom 4 is waterproof, drop proof, and it floats. Ultimate Ears, therefore, says it's perfect for the pool, beach, or even the shower. The speaker also has 360-degree spatial sound, thanks to its cylindrical design.

If you're looking forward to warmer weather and have pool-side plans, pack along the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 to bring tunes to the party. Thanks to today's sale price at Amazon, the black colorway can be all yours for under $140.

You might want to update the firmware on your HP laser printer, pronto.

HP published a security update on its website confirming that there are three separate security flaws affecting several models of laser printers. According to HP, certain LaserJet printers "may potentially be vulnerable to Remote Code Execution and Elevation of Privilege when processing a PostScript print job." The company didn't reveal any other details, but that certainly sounds bad. Fortunately, there are firmware updates for affected printers that you can download to resolve the issue.

SEE ALSO: Cybersecurity researchers discovered a scary security flaw with YouTube and Google

The three security vulnerabilities affect different models, which are listed on the security update page. There are simply too many to list here, so you should probably look at the list to see if your printer is affected. If it's any consolation, they mostly appear to be enterprise-grade printers.

HP rated the security flaws by severity, with one of them coming in as Critical, one as High, and the last one as Medium. In other words, anyone who owns one of these printers should prioritize getting the new firmware installed ASAP.

It would probably be kind of embarrassing if you were seriously compromised by a printer, so don't let that happen.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is an incredible phone with all the latest and greatest specs. It's arguably the best Android smartphone you can get right now, so I quickly bought one. After using the phone for nearly two weeks, I returned it for a smaller model.

In case you haven't visited a hardware store lately, there is a shortage of NVIDIA's RTX 5000 cards. The circumstances are not the exact same as the big shortage of GPUs back in 2021, but the whole situation is playing out in a similar way. So similar, in fact, that we now even have "waitlists" to buy NVIDIA's GPUs.

SAVE $350: As of Feb. 20, get the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 Gaming Monitor for $549.99, down from its original price of $899.99, with an on-page coupon at B&H Photo. That's a discount of 42%.

Opens in a new window Credit: B&H Photo Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 Gaming Monitor $549.99 at B&H Photo
$899.99 Save $350.00 Clip on-page coupon for an extra $150 off Get Deal

If you're a PC gamer or connect your handhelds to a monitor, you know the importance of having one that looks great and functions even better. A great gaming monitor is paramount to a good gaming battle station, and when you get one, you can immediately tell the difference. If you're looking for a significant visual glow up, or you just need something functional yet a bit flashy, you can save big one of Samsung's best gaming monitors today.

As of Feb. 20, get the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 Gaming Monitor for $549.99, down from its original price of $899.99 at B&H Photo. It's currently $699.99 thanks to an instant discount, and you can clip the on-page coupon to save an additional $150 off of the monitor. This discount is only valid through Feb. 23.

SEE ALSO: Slash 47% off the Logitech G502 gaming mouse and upgrade your PC gaming station

This 27-inch monitor features a 16:9 OLED panel with a 2560 x 1440 resolution and 360 Hz refresh rate and 0.03 ms response time. AMD FreeSync helps to remove screen tearing issues, and the display itself offers 250 nits of brightness, so you can see everything and appreciate it more than with your average monitor.

As for the frame, it's thin and lightweight, with two HDMI ports and a DisplayPort with USB-A charging options, so setup is convenient. You can also rotate the monitor 92 degrees in either direction as well as adjust its height, tilt, and swivel for a better viewing angle.

This is a great monitor to settle in and enjoy your favorite games with, and it's much more affordable than usual for a limited time. If you're ready to take the plunge, now's a good time.

TAKE UP TO 50% OFF: Save on camping gear from brands like Sea to Summit, Coleman, LifeStraw, and more at Amazon and REI.

Best pre-season camping deals Best tent deal The North Face Trail Lite 3 tent $174.73 (save $175.27) Get Deal Best sleeping deal Sea to Summit Ether Light XT sleeping pad (regular) $99.50 (save $99.50) Get Deal Best water filtration deal LifeStraw Go Series water bottle (clear, 33.8 ounces) $37.46 (save $12.49) Get Deal

There are still freezing temps all over the U.S. this week, but in no time at all we'll be out enjoying the spring warmth. Like the daffodils and tulips, we're slowly crawling back into the sunlight and in no time at all, we'll be heading out for weekend camping adventures.

If your camping equipment could use an upgrade before booking your summer adventures, shopping during the off-season is a great way to score epic deals. Check out these serious discounts that'll get your prepped early for the upcoming camping season.

Best tent deal Opens in a new window Credit: The North Face The North Face Trail Lite 3 tent $174.73 at REI
$350.00 Save $175.27 Get Deal Why we like it

A home away from home is necessary when heading into the great outdoors. With room for three, The North Face Trail Lite 3 tent focuses on a roomy interior while remaining lightweight. While the tent typically costs $350, it's on sale at REI for just $174.73 which means your trail-side home will come with a 50% discount.

The North Face designed this tent with oversized doors, making it easier to get in and out. The two vestibules are great help when it comes to storing extra gear or taking off muddy boots before getting into the tent. The internal organization pocket are also handy for keeping essentials stored in easy-to-access spots.

The Trail Lite 3 comes with its own storage bag, but you'll want to grab a footprint or a tarp separately to pack along.

Best sleeping deal Opens in a new window Credit: Sea to Summit Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Air Sleeping Pad (regular) $99.50 at Sea to Summit
$199.00 Save $99.50 Get Deal Why we like it

When tucked in under the stars, be sure your sleep setup is comfortable with no rocks poking into your back. The Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Air Sleeping Pad measures four inches thick, ready to keep your cozy while camping in late spring through early fall. With Thermolite insulation, the sleeping pad offers a plush experience that's both lightweight and durable. There's also an anti-microbial treatment to keep things as hygienic as possible.

The regular size of the Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Air Sleeping Pad is marked down to just $99.50 which gives you a hefty 50% discount off the typical price of $199.

SEE ALSO: Oru's lightest foldable kayak is worth every penny Best water-filtration deal Opens in a new window Credit: LifeStraw LifeStraw Go Series water bottle (clear, 33.8 ounces) $37.46 at Amazon
$49.95 Save $12.49 Get Deal Why we like it

All good outdoor adventure are fueled by s'mores, granola bars, and hot dogs. But it's also critical to stay well hydrated. While that sounds easy, finding clean sources of water in the wilderness can be a challenge, but that's solved by packing along the LifeStraw Go Series water bottle. With a 33.8-ounce capacity, the water bottle filters out bacteria, parasites, sand, dirt, and even microplastics from your drinking water. Pack this along when you're camping and you'll be able to drink from the lake, stream, or river. The included membrane microfilter lasts for about 1,000 gallons which means you'll be hydrated to the max.

More camping deals:

• Hydro Flask All Around Travel Tumbler (40 ounces, Lupine) — $19.83 $39.95 (save $20.12)

• AeroPress Coffee Press (green or red) — $36.93 $49.95 (save $13.02)

• Coleman Lantern (1,000 lumens) — $39.99 $44.99 (save $5)

• Rumpl NanoLoft Puffy Travel Blanket — $70.93 $95 (save $24.07)

• Intex Seahawk 3 inflatable boat — $87.55 $249.99 (save $162.44)

• Jetboil Flash Cooking System — $97.39 $129.95 (save $32.56)

• EcoFlow Delta 2 portable power station — $449 $699 (save $250)

President Donald Trump is floating another taxpayer payout under his second presidential term, funded this time by the proposed savings achieved by his controversial "Department of Government Efficiency," or "DOGE."

Appearing at the Future Investment Initiative Institute Priority Summit on Feb. 19, Trump told attendees: "There’s even a... under consideration, a new concept where we give 20 percent of the DOGE savings to American citizens and 20 percent goes to paying down debt."

The genesis of the idea was not a discerning fiscal move out of Trump's government spending overhaul, but — par for the course under the current administration — a social media post. One day earlier, Elon Musk, leader of the de-facto government department, replied to an X post from James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria and Trump ally, proposing the administration send out tax refund checks to every taxpayer to be known as "DOGE Dividends" and offering to meet with Trump and Musk in Washington, D.C. this week.

SEE ALSO: Robot, take the wheel: What you need to know about autonomous vehicles rolling out across the U.S.

Musk's answer: "Will check with the President." One day later, Trump proposed the idea to summit attendees, and only a handful of hours passed before the suggested "stimulus checks round 2" were being discussed as a potential, if not probable, taxpayer benefit — fuel for the DOGE fire.

Tweet may have been deleted Are DOGE dividend checks real?

The short answer? No. DOGE Dividend checks are based on an unofficial proposal by an American businessman and not a federal act or executive order. The checks themselves are based on expected (not yet realized) federal spending cuts.

But that doesn't mean Trump and Musk-led DOGE won't try to make something like it happen as they seek to tackle inflation and balance the federal budget.

"Few in America knew precisely what to expect from DOGE. The early perceived turbulence around leadership, the uncertainty around legal structure, and the lack of precedent for such a bold initiative created a sense of 'show me' with DOGE. Just a month into President Trump’s second term, DOGE is delivering. Full stop," wrote Fishback in his full proposal.

DOGE Dividend checks, according to Fishback's reasoning, would incentivize American taxpayers "to report instances of waste, fraud, and abuse to DOGE, which increases the total amount DOGE saves and increases the size of their DOGE Dividend check. This is appealing to both Musk and Trump, who have led the charge against what they deem "unethical" or "corrupt" spending in a sweeping and what some deem unconstitutional takeover of federal agencies.

But others, including DOGE's proponents, were skeptical. "Love what DOGE is doing, but this is a bad idea. There’s no need to send 'dividend checks.' The dividend we get from slashing spending is that it brings inflation into check. But if the government sends out stimmy checks, inflation will come back with a vengeance," wrote Preston Brashers, a tax policy researcher for the Heritage Foundation.

Rather than seeing dividend checks as another "handout," Fishback argued they would be a form of restitution. "We are returning the peoples' money to them, enabling them to save and pay down debt rather than see it wasted and abused," Fishback said in a reply to another skeptical X user.

SEE ALSO: What Elon Musk could do with the digital keys to the kingdom How much would you get from a DOGE dividend check?

DOGE has set a goal of eliminating $2 trillion from the federal budget by July 4, 2026. According to Fishback's proposed plan, the Trump administration will take 20 percent of that expected $2 trillion (approximately $400 billion) and split it up by the expected amount of federal tax payers in 2025 (around 79 million U.S. residents).

Based on that rough math, Trump, parroting Fishback's plan, proposed a future $5,000 check per individual taxpayer, a number that would eclipse the $1,400 Economic Impact Payments (also known as stimulus checks) sent out to individuals in 2021.

The real life numbers aren't making it clear if that could even happen. So far, DOGE has reported that it's already uncovered and cut back $16 billion in federal contracts. It's supporters, including Fishback, claim the agency has slashed $1 billion in spending per day. Those numbers are widely disputed.

Featured Video For You 7 ways Mark Zuckerberg changed Meta ahead of Trump’s inauguration

Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of Feb. 20: OUR TOP PICK Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 $135.44 (save $64.55) Get Deal BEST MONITOR DEAL Apple Studio Display $1,299.99 (save $299.01) Get Deal BEST SMART DEVICE DEAL Amazon Echo Frames $179.99 (save $90) Get Deal BEST TV DEAL Hisense 75-Inch U6N Mini-LED 4K Google TV $598 (save $399.99) Get Deal

With no shopping holidays or savings events on the immediate horizon, you may think you're out of luck for scoring a deal. Fortunately, that's not the case — especially at Amazon. You just have to do some digging. As of Feb. 20, we've found a few discounts we think are worth grabbing at the mega retailer.

Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day. If none of these are your cup of tea, be sure to check out our picks from Feb. 18 and Feb. 19. Many of those are still live, including the best price ever on the Garmin Forerunner 955 and Eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum and mop.

Our top pick: Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 Opens in a new window Credit: Ultimate Ears Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 $135.44 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $64.55 Get Deal

If you're looking for a portable speaker that actually sounds good, check out the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4. We haven't tested it ourselves, but we have spent some time with its pint-sized sibling (the Wonderboom 4) and it's one of our absolute favorites. We expect that the Megaboom offers similar features, but stepped up into a bigger package. It can pump out tunes for up to 20 hours on a full charge, is virtually indestructible thanks to IP67 waterproofing, and packs a full range driver for powerful 360-degree sound with balance, clarity, and impressive bass. As of Feb. 20, you can pick up the Megaboom 4 in black at its best price ever, just $135.44 at Amazon. That's 32% in savings.

Apple Studio Display Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Studio Display $1,299.99 at Amazon
$1,599.00 Save $299.01 Get Deal

The Apple Studio Display is a premium monitor built for content creators. It's an all-aluminum 27-inch display with impressive 5K resolution, 600 nits of brightness, and support for 1 billion colors. It also has a built-in A13 chip that helps with image processing for the 8-megapixel camera, Spatial Audio, and Dolby Atmos support. "For Mac-centric content creators, the Studio Display is a stunning, plug-and-go 5K companion for a late-model Mac (especially the 2022 Mac Studio), but the pricing for the panel and its options is hard to swallow," our friends at PCMag (also owned by Ziff Davis) write in their review. Fortunately, if you've been eyeing it for awhile, it's on sale for $1,299.99 or 19% off its usual cost as of Feb. 20. That's still pretty hefty, but certainly beats the usual $1,599 price tag.

Amazon Echo Frames Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Echo Frames $179.99 at Amazon
$269.99 Save $90.00 Get Deal

If you're fully committed to a smart device lifestyle, the Amazon Echo Frames are for you. They look like regular prescription-ready glasses, but they're equipped with Alexa, so you can use them to control compatible smart home devices, ask the important questions, play music, stream podcasts, and take calls hands-free. No need to pop in earbuds. They'll last for up to 14 hours on a full charge, so you'll have to place them on the charging dock after a long work day. Choose from five glasses or four sunglasses styles — either way, they'll cost you just $179.99 at Amazon as of Feb. 20. That's up to 45% off, depending on which style you select.

Hisense 75-Inch U6N Mini-LED 4K Google TV Opens in a new window Credit: Hisense Hisense 75-inch U6N Mini-LED 4K Google TV $598.00 at Amazon
$997.99 Save $399.99 Get Deal

"With excellent color and contrast, a strong feature set, and a compellingly low price, the Hisense U6N is the best budget-friendly TV you can buy," according to our sister site PCMag's review. Its QLED panel and mini-LED backlight translate to impressive color and contrast. Plus, it's loaded with features like hands-free Google Assistant, Game Mode Plus, and AI Sports Mode. It's usually pretty affordable at just $997.99 for a 75-inch model, but as of Feb. 20, it's down to only $598. That's 40% in savings and its lowest price to date.

None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.

SAVE $40: As of Feb. 20, get the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids for $139.99, down from its usual price of $179.99, at Amazon. That's a discount of 22%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids $139.99
$179.99 Save $40.00 Get Deal

If you're a voracious reader, you probably already have a Kindle. It's a convenient way to devour tons of books, and with Kindle Unlimited, you've got a subscription to download tons of books to satisfy those cravings. It's not too late for your kids to follow in your footsteps, and a great way to engender a love of reading in your offspring is by gifting them their own. And right now, you can get one at a great price so you can feel good about what they're doing in their free time – and they can explore tons of awesome new stories.

As of Feb. 20, get the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids for $139.99, down from its usual price of $179.99. That's $40 off and a discount of 22%. This discount currently applies to the Cyber City and Starfish covers that come with the unit.

This is the latest model of Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite, with a 7-inch e-ink display complete with a higher contrast ration and 25% faster page turns than the previous model. It's waterproof, with an adjustable warm light and glare-free display, and it even has a set of parental controls that you can adjust to your liking while adding books from your account to your child's account so you can have control over what they read.

This particular purchase also comes with 6 months of Amazon Kids+, which offers unlimited access to kids' books and content, so you can give them free reign when you're comfortable to choose age-appropriate reading materials. If you're ready to send your kids off on their own reading journey, this is a great place to start, especially at a discount.

The automotive world is at a turning point, with several different routes leading towards zero-emissions transportation. While electric vehicles seem to be leading the charge for now, an enticing alternative comes in the form of hydrogen combustion vehicles.

Microsoft Word is a versatile tool for writing, editing, and formatting documents. While it's powerful on its own, you can boost your productivity even further by installing add-ins that enhance its functionality. Here are the best ones.

SAVE $102.75: The Sunny Health & Fitness magnetic rowing machine is on sale at Amazon for $147.23, down from the list price of $249.98. That's a 41% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sunny Health & Fitness Sunny Health & Fitness magnetic rowing machine $147.23 at Amazon
$249.98 Save $102.75 Get Deal

Now that almost two month have gone by in 2025, it's not a bad idea to consider how those New Year's resolutions are going. There's still plenty of time left (10 months, in fact) to get in gear for feeling proud and accomplished about achieving those 2025 goals come Dec. 31. If you have fitness goals, but haven't loved heading to the gym, check out this great deal at Amazon.

As of Feb. 20, the Sunny Health & Fitness magnetic rowing machine is on sale for $147.23 at Amazon, down from the standard price of $249.98. That's a massive 41% discount that means you'll be saving $102.75.

When we consider the 10 months left in 2025 compared to the sale price of the Sunny Health & Fitness rowing machine, it boils down to under $15 per month to own a whole-body workout machine. That's likely less expensive than any gym membership and it comes with the convenience of zero commute time to your living room.

SEE ALSO: The 7 best Peloton alternatives for crushing those New Year's resolutions

One thing to always consider when looking into rowing machines is the seat comfort. Sunny Health & Fitness designed this model with an oversized and padded seat, making it a more enjoyable experience to get your cardio in.

The rowing machine's heavy-duty frame is suitable for bodies up to 285 pounds, and the magnetic tension is adjustable between 16 levels. The non-slip pedals keep your feet securely in place while the non-slip handlebars also make it easier to feel solid on the machine.

The digital monitor is a no-frills situation, but it gives you all the basic measurements like time, rowing count, and calories. Plus, there's a water bottle holder and a built-in device holder for your phone or tablet. Storage is also simple thanks to the foldable slide rail design and transportation wheels.

Instead of dropping thousands on a gym membership or a trendy stationary bicycle, grab the functional Sunny Health & Fitness rowing machine for a whole-body work out that'll cost you under $150.

Apple’s cheapest iPhone just got $170 more expensive. The iPhone 16e brings some big improvements to the budget end of the market, but its price hike will push it out of reach for many iPhone SE refugees.

From forming muscle fibers to protecting us from disease, proteins play an essential role in almost all biological processes in humans and other life forms alike. There has been extraordinary progress in recent years toward better understanding protein structures using deep learning, enabling the accurate prediction of protein structures from their amino acid sequences. However, predicting a single protein structure from its amino acid sequence is like looking at a single frame of a movie—it offers only a snapshot of a highly flexible molecule. Biomolecular Emulator-1 (BioEmu-1) is a deep-learning model that provides scientists with a glimpse into the rich world of different structures each protein can adopt, or structural ensembles, bringing us a step closer to understanding how proteins work. A deeper understanding of proteins enables us to design more effective drugs, as many medications work by influencing protein structures to boost their function or prevent them from causing harm.

One way to model different protein structures is through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. These tools simulate how proteins move and deform over time and are widely used in academia and industry. However, in order to simulate functionally important changes in structure, MD simulations must be run for a long time. This is a computationally demanding task and significant effort has been put into accelerating simulations, going as far as designing custom computer architectures (opens in new tab). Yet, even with these improvements, many proteins remain beyond what is currently possible to simulate and would require simulation times of years or even decades. 

Enter BioEmu-1 (opens in new tab)—a deep learning model that can generate thousands of protein structures per hour on a single graphics processing unit. Today, we are making BioEmu-1 open-source (opens in new tab), following our preprint (opens in new tab) from last December, to empower protein scientists in studying structural ensembles with our model. It provides orders of magnitude greater computational efficiency compared to classical MD simulations, thereby opening the door to insights that have, until now, been out of reach. BioEmu-1 is featured in Azure AI Foundry Labs (opens in new tab), a hub for developers, startups, and enterprises to explore groundbreaking innovations from research at Microsoft.

About Microsoft Research

Advancing science and technology to benefit humanity

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We have enabled this by training BioEmu-1 on three types of data sets: (1) AlphaFold Database (AFDB) (opens in new tab) structures (2) an extensive MD simulation dataset, and (3) an experimental protein folding stability dataset (opens in new tab). Training BioEmu-1 on the AFDB structures is like mapping distinct islands in a vast ocean of possible structures. When preparing this dataset, we clustered similar protein sequences so that BioEmu-1 can recognize that a protein sequence maps to multiple distinct structures. The MD simulation dataset helps BioEmu-1 predict physically plausible structural changes around these islands, mapping out the plethora of possible structures that a single protein can adopt. Finally, through fine-tuning on the protein folding stability dataset, BioEmu-1 learns to sample folded and unfolded structures with the right probabilities.

Figure 1: BioEmu-1 predicts diverse structures of LapD protein unseen during training. We sampled structures independently and reordered the samples to create a movie connecting two experimentally known structures.

Combining these advances, BioEmu-1 successfully generalizes to unseen protein sequences and predicts multiple structures. In Figure 1, we show that BioEmu-1can predict structures of the LapD protein (opens in new tab) from Vibrio cholerae bacteria, which causes cholera. BioEmu-1 predicts structures of LapD when it is bound and unbound with c-di-GMP molecules, both of which are experimentally known but not in the training set. Furthermore, our model offers a view on intermediate structures, which have never been experimentally observed, providing viable hypotheses about how this protein functions. Insights into how proteins function pave the way for further advancements in areas like drug development.

Figure 2: BioEmu-1 reproduces the D. E. Shaw research (DESRES) simulation of Protein G accurately with a fraction of the computational cost. On the top, we compare the distributions of structures obtained by extensive MD simulation (left) and independent sampling from BioEmu-1 (right). Three representative sample structures are shown at the bottom.

Moreover, BioEmu-1 reproduces MD equilibrium distributions accurately with a tiny fraction of the computational cost. In Figure 2, we compare 2D projections of the structural distribution of D. E. Shaw research (DESRES) simulation of Protein G (opens in new tab) and samples from BioEmu-1. BioEmu-1 reproduces the MD distribution accurately, while requiring 10,000-100,000 times fewer GPU hours.

Figure 3: BioEmu-1 accurately predicts protein stability. On the left, we plot the experimentally measured free energy differences ΔG against those predicted by BioEmu-1. On the right, we show a protein in folded and unfolded structures.

Furthermore, BioEmu-1 accurately predicts protein stability, which we measure by computing the folding free energies—a way to quantify the ratio between the folded and unfolded states of a protein. Protein stability is an important factor when designing proteins, e.g., for therapeutic purposes. Figure 3 shows the folding free energies predicted by BioEmu-1, obtained by sampling protein structures and counting folded versus unfolded protein structures, compared against experimental folding free energy measurements. We see that even on sequences that BioEmu-1 has never seen during training, the predicted free energy values correlate well with experimental values.

Professor Martin Steinegger (opens in new tab) of Seoul National University, who was not part of the study, says “With highly accurate structure prediction, protein dynamics is the next frontier in discovery. BioEmu marks a significant step in this direction by enabling blazing-fast sampling of the free-energy landscape of proteins through generative deep learning.”

We believe that BioEmu-1 is a first step toward generating the full ensemble of structures that a protein can take. In these early days, we are also aware of its limitations. With this open-source release, we hope scientists will start experimenting with BioEmu-1, helping us carve out its potentials and shortcomings so we can improve it in the future. We are looking forward to hearing how it performs on various proteins you care about.

Acknowledgements

BioEmu-1 is the result of highly collaborative team effort at Microsoft Research AI for Science. The full authors: Sarah Lewis, Tim Hempel, José Jiménez-Luna, Michael Gastegger, Yu Xie, Andrew Y. K. Foong, Victor García Satorras, Osama Abdin, Bastiaan S. Veeling, Iryna Zaporozhets, Yaoyi Chen, Soojung Yang, Arne Schneuing, Jigyasa Nigam, Federico Barbero, Vincent Stimper, Andrew Campbell, Jason Yim, Marten Lienen, Yu Shi, Shuxin Zheng, Hannes Schulz, Usman Munir, Ryota Tomioka, Cecilia Clementi, Frank Noé

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The post Exploring the structural changes driving protein function with BioEmu-1 appeared first on Microsoft Research.

Whether you’re a confirmed command line-dweller, or just terminal-curious, you’ve maybe wondered how easy it is to search the web with a simple text command. Well, Linux being Linux, there are several options at your disposal.

Want to upgrade the sound quality of your earbuds or headphones? There are two Android apps that I love for this. They don't need you to be an audiophile, and they require no technical knowledge, yet they produce amazing results.

If you've bought a new 4K monitor recently, you might have been puzzled by the array of ports on the back. HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C, and Thunderbolt are all commonplace now, but which is the best, and why?