Experts in the News

Life depends on molecular machines made of proteins that interact with each other to form functional complexes. Researchers need accurate descriptions of protein-protein interactions to understand molecular biosystems, but obtaining such descriptions is very challenging, especially for theoretical approaches. Generalizing AlphaFold 2, a powerful deep learning algorithm for predicting protein structures from sequence, researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and Oak Ridge National Laboratory proposed a computational approach, AF2Complex, to not only predict the atomic structural models of interacting proteins, but also to predict whether multiple proteins interact, even if they experience transient interactions that are difficult to capture experimentally. The Georgia Tech School of Biological Sciences researchers are Mu Gao, senior research scientist, and Jeffrey Skolnick, Regents' Professor; Mary and Maisie Gibson Chair & GRA Eminent Scholar in Computational Systems Biology. (Their study is funded in part by the U.S. Dept. of Energy and the National Institutes of Health.)

Two prominent origin-of-life chemists have published a new hypothesis for how the first sugars — which were necessary for life to evolve — arose on the early Earth. In a paper in the journal Chem, chemists from Scripps Research and the Georgia Institute of Technology propose that key sugars needed for making early life forms could have emerged from reactions involving glyoxylate (C2HO3–), a relatively simple chemical that plausibly existed on the Earth before life evolved. Charles Liotta, Regents' Professor Emeritus in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, is one of the study's authors. (This study was also covered in Astrobiology and Mirage News.)

The 2019 release of the first image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), was hailed as a significant scientific achievement. But truth be told, it was a bit blurry — or, as one astrophysicist involved in the effort called it, a "fuzzy orange donut." Scientists on Thursday unveiled a new and improved image of this black hole — a behemoth at the center of a nearby galaxy — mining the same data used for the earlier one but improving its resolution by employing image reconstruction algorithms to fill in gaps in the original telescope observations. The use of machine learning to improve the photo is detailed in a study in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Two professors in the School of Physics who are EHT founding members — Feryal Ozel, who is also school chair, and Dimitrios Psaltis — are co-authors of the study. (This story was also covered in Space Daily, ScienceDaily and the Calgary Herald.)

This story about an AI enhancement of the famous 2018 photo of the first-ever image of a black hole — captured by the Event Horizon Telescope featuring EHT founding members and School of Physics professors Feryal Ozel (also school chair) and Dimitrios Psaltis — is also covered in Scientific American, Ars Technica, The Washington Post, Phys.org, NPR, Sky News, MSN, USA Today, Yahoo!News, CBS News, Space.com, The Associated Press,   LiveScience, Smithsonian Magazine, Economic Times, Voice of America News, and UK Daily Mail. 

In February, the countries of Turkey and Syria were devastated by a pair of high-magnitude earthquakes occurring nine hours apart. The two events, 7.8- and 7.5-magnitudes respectively, caused thousands of deaths and widespread destruction of infrastructure. Both occurred along the East Anatolian fault, one of Turkey’s two main earthquake zones. A team of scientists from Georgia Tech, the University of Missouri, and the Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey (TUBITAK) are working to better understand the makeup of the earthquake zone and surrounding areas to help scientists better explain why February’s earthquakes were unusually intense. Zhigang Peng, professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, will join colleagues in placing 250 autonomous, wireless sensors near the fault. (This story was also covered in the Columbia Daily Tribune.)

College of Sciences alumna Natalie Lembeck ('15 Psychology) is included in Psychedelic Spotlight's 30 Under 30 feature on rising stars in the psychedelic field, as they work towards psychedelic legalization and decriminalization, research discoveries, harm reduction, and adequate mental health care. Lembeck has worked in labs and clinics involved in Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies-sponsored research, focusing on the use of cannabis and MDMA to aid in the treatment of PTSD. She currently works as the executive assistant to Dr. Michael Mithoefer, clinical researcher and psychotherapist. 

Understanding the universe isn't just about visually mapping celestial bodies, it's also about listening to the heavens. Data sonification takes astronomical data and turns it into sound. It could help find new patterns in the huge amount of digital information. And it's a way of enhancing astronomy by promoting greater engagement and accessibility — a musical mix of science, art and cold, hard data. Bruce Walker, professor in the School of Psychology and the School of Interactive Computing, and director of Georgia Tech's Sonification Lab, joins a panel of scientists for an April 15 program on what sonification can add to astronomy. 

The Roger A. and Helen B. Krone Engineering Biosystems Building (EBB) at Georgia Tech is an interdisciplinary facility for researchers from biology, chemistry, and engineering, all working to elevate understanding of living systems and bring about new cures for diseases. The facility houses the Children’s Pediatric Technology Center, a research partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University. This Forbes profile of alumni Roger A. Krone, who is retiring as CEO of government information system provider Leidos, looks back on his business career and his ability to adapt to changing times. 

Eric Schumacher's 2018 research paper on daydreaming and intelligence sets the stage in this column celebrating the power of imagination. Schumacher, professor in the School of Psychology, found that those who let their minds wander score higher on creativity and intelligence tests. Columnist Paul Geisler argues that no matter who many advances the technology world gives us, such as ChatGPT, they will never replace a human's ability to create worlds inside their heads, and possible solutions to problems, via daydreaming. 

Peat, the ingredient that makes bagged soil light and spongy, comes from wetlands. It can increase the amount of water soil holds onto while also, paradoxically, increasing its drainage ability — creating an ideal environment for nurturing plants. But while it does all of those things, extracting it is problematic because it strips the bogs it comes from of their carbon stores, and hinders their ability to keep storing carbon — both important parts of fighting climate change. Caitlin Petro, a research scientist in the School of Biological Sciences who studies peatlands and the plants in them, explains that it can take millennia for just a few feet of peat to form. 

Georgia Tech researchers show that rising temperatures in northern regions may damage peatlands, critical ecosystems for storing carbon from the atmosphere — and could decouple vital processes in microbial support systems. Joel Kostka, professor and associate chair of Research in the School of Biological Sciences, and Caitlin Petro, research scientist who works with Kostka, recently led a collaborative study to investigate how this critical type of ecosystem (and the "missing link" of microbial processes that support it) may react to the increased temperature and carbon dioxide levels predicted to come with climate change.

A group including Georgia Tech is pursuing up to $500 million for a new regional hub focused on clean energy manufacturing, an industry bringing thousands of jobs to the state. The plan is to apply for the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program, federal funding to build tech hubs in key U.S. regions. The process could open this summer and is expected to be highly competitive. The idea is to create additional areas of tech expertise in the country, similar to Silicon Valley or Seattle, said Julia Kubanek, vice president of Interdisciplinary Research, and a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. It could bring more economic development and secure a more reliable domestic supply chain, Kubanek added.