AlphaFoldAccelerating breakthroughs in biology with AI Explore the AlphaFold Database AlphaFold has revealed millions of intricate 3D protein structures, and is helping scientists understand how life’s molecules interact. The building blocks of life Transforming biology Breakthroughs AlphaFold tools Proteins – the building blocks of lifeProteins underpin every biological process, in every living thing.Made from long chains of amino acids, each has a unique complex 3D structure. But figuring out just one of these can take several years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 2020, AlphaFold solved this problem, with the ability to predict protein structures in minutes, to a remarkable degree of accuracy.That’s helping researchers understand what individual proteins do and how they interact with other molecules. So valuable time and resources can be redirected into advancing research that could help solve society’s biggest medical and environmental challenges. “ What took us months and years to do, AlphaFold was able to do in a weekend. Professor John McGeehanFormer Director for the Centre for Enzyme Innovation (CEI) AlphaFold’s potential Watch Managing plastic pollution91% of all plastic ever produced has never been recycled. AlphaFold could help us face up to the challenge of cleaning up our world. Watch Supporting global food supplies40% of the world’s crops are lost to disease each year. AlphaFold could unlock insights that help keep food on tables. AlphaFold’s impactSo far, AlphaFold has predicted over 200 million protein structures – nearly all catalogued proteins known to science. The AlphaFold Protein Structure Database makes this data freely available. So far, it has over two million users in 190 countries. That means it has already potentially saved millions of dollars and hundreds of millions of years in research time.Meanwhile, AlphaFold Server predicts how proteins will interact with a broad spectrum of biomolecules, accelerating new research.AlphaFold has already made a significant impact. We hope it will eventually help to transform our understanding of the biological world. Accelerating breakthroughs Researchers are using AlphaFold in nearly every field of biology. Explore some of their stories. Case study Accelerating the fight against malaria Learn more Case study Paving the way for potential Parkinson’s treatments Learn more Case study Racing against drug-resistant bacteria Learn more Case study Breaking down plastic pollution Learn more Case study Designing more effective drugs Learn more Case study Increasing honeybees’ chances of survival Learn more View all case studies AlphaFold tools A powerful suite of tools, helping the scientific community advance research. AlphaFold Protein Structure Database View over 200 million protein structure predictions to support your research. AlphaFold Server Predict the structure and interactions of all life’s molecules with unprecedented accuracy. AlphaFold 3 Access the AlphaFold 3 model code and weights for academic use. Learn more Watch Proteins, explainedInside every cell of your body, billions of tiny machines – proteins – are hard at work. Watch The AlphaFold solutionJump back to 2020, when AlphaFold solved one of the biggest scientific challenges in over 50 years. What's new Science AlphaFold 3 predicts the structure and interactions of all of life’s molecules Introducing a new AI model developed by Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs. 8 May 2024 Science A glimpse of the next generation of AlphaFold Progress update: Our latest AlphaFold model shows significantly improved accuracy and expands coverage beyond proteins to other biological molecules, including ligands. 31 October 2023 Science Stopping malaria in its tracks Developing a vaccine that could save hundreds of thousands of lives 13 October 2022 Explore our other teams and product areas Google AI Google AI for Developers Google AI Studio Gemini Google Cloud Google Labs