Benefits
- Benefit
-
After two years of failed phasing, a CNRS team in Palaiseau solved the structure of a protein from the mRNA decay pathway by molecular replacement with AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold models.
Awaiting review
- Outcome identifiers
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Category
-
Improved Knowledge Discovery
Awaiting review
- Status
-
Reported benefit
Awaiting review
- Beneficiary groups
-
Organizations.
Awaiting review
- Beneficiaries
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Reach
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Distribution and access
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Duration
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Expected?
-
Yes
Awaiting review
- Costs and harms
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
AI system
- System
-
AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold predicted models used as molecular replacement search models
Awaiting review
- Model
-
This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Release
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Provider
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Role
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Configuration
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Inputs and outputs
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Autonomy
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Workflow
-
The laboratory had good diffraction data (2.45 Å) but no phases. Predicted models were accurate enough to serve as molecular replacement search models.
Awaiting review
- Human oversight
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Relation to AI
-
The authors compare search models and report that the AlphaFold model outperformed the others, but they describe a single structure without a controlled comparison.
Awaiting review
- AI contribution
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
Measurement
- Studies
-
Case study. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Studies
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
- Study design
-
Case study. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Study design
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
- Measurement
-
Success of molecular replacement with different search models. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Measurement
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
- Setting and sample
-
One protein crystal data set at 2.45 Å. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Setting and sample
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
- Measures
-
Structure solved or not. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Measures
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
- Comparison
-
Isomorphous replacement, anomalous diffraction and molecular replacement with other models. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Comparison
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
- Results
-
Solved with AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold models after two years of failure. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Results
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
- Additional value from AI
-
Made a previously failed structure solvable. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Additional value from AI
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
- Limitations
-
One case in one laboratory. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Limitations
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
Money
- Kind of value
-
The kind of monetary value is unclear.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Amount
-
The monetary value is not established.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Currency and prices
-
The currency and price basis are unclear.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Period and unit
-
The period and unit of the monetary estimate are unclear.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Realization
-
Whether the monetary value was realized is unclear.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Recipients and payers
-
The recipients and payers are unclear.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Gross or net
-
Whether the monetary figure includes costs is unclear.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Included costs
-
The costs included in the estimate are unclear.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Comparison
-
The financial comparison is not established.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Method
-
The method used to calculate monetary value is unclear.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Return and payback
-
The return on investment or payback period is not established.
Not reviewedUnresolved
People and places
- Participants
-
Developer:
DeepMind (AlphaFold); University of Washington Institute for Protein Design (RoseTTAFold). Operator: Laboratoire de Biologie Structurale de la Cellule (BIOC), CNRS and École polytechnique.Awaiting review
- Jurisdictions
-
Benefit: Palaiseau,
France. Developer: 
United Kingdom and 
United States. Operator: France.Awaiting review
- Ownership and control
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Dependencies
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Cross-border connections
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Geopolitical implications
-
The geopolitical implications are unclear.
Not reviewedUnresolved
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
-
The predicted model must be close to the crystallized structure. Search models must be trimmed and prepared with care.
Awaiting review
- Replication attempts
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Later findings
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Availability
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Institutional decision
-
A relevant institutional decision has not been established.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Grounds
-
The grounds for an institutional decision are unclear.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Action and result
-
The result of an institutional decision is not established.
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Success criterion
-
The criterion for a successful institutional decision is unclear.
Not reviewedUnresolved
Evidence
- Source numbers
-
AIBD-0660-source-0001
Awaiting review
- Citations
-
Numbered references below.
Awaiting review
- Language
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Source relationships
-
Operator
Awaiting review
- Original evidence
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Access and versions
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Supported findings
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Evidence links
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Evidence strength
-
The deployer's account. Sources: the deployer's peer-reviewed study. The cited evidence includes no independent source and no finding by a regulator or court. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Evidence strength
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
- Missing evidence
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
Grades
- Assessed benefits
-
Organizations.
Awaiting review
- Depth
-
Organizations: 3.
Awaiting review
- Reasons
-
Organizations: The laboratory solved a structure that two years of standard methods had failed to solve.
Awaiting review
- Observed or intended
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Rubric
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Assessor and date
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Alternative assessments
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Fill
-
The deployer's account
Awaiting review
Entry details
- Kind
-
The case describes an individual experience. A case report on one structure. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Kind
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
- Related entries
-
No incident in the AI Incident Database snapshot of 26 October 2026 concerns the same kind of system harming the same kind of stakeholder.
Partly reviewedUnresolved: supporting details for Related entries
Compared with the incidents in the AI Incident Database snapshot of 26 October 2026.
- Field
-
Structural biology.
Awaiting review
- Purpose
-
AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold were built to predict protein structures. Use of the predictions as search models for crystallographic phasing is an application by an independent laboratory.
Awaiting review
- Dates
-
Source published: 16 March 2022. Updated: 29 October 2026.
Awaiting review
- Stage
-
The system was in routine use. The laboratory used the predicted models in its own research. [1]
Fully reviewed: supporting details for Stage
Review date: 29 October 2026.
Sources: [1]
- Version
-
SHA-256: 9a5112f2a8c0…
Awaiting review: supporting details for Version
SHA-256 of the public case, its assessments, and its displayed answers and notes, excluding its own identifier and the derived coverage summary.
References
- Other identifiers
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Category mappings
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Citable summary
-
Unresolved
Not reviewedUnresolved
- Revisions
-
1 revision. Latest: 29 October 2026.
Awaiting review
Sources
-
Peer-reviewed study Deployer
Barbarin-Bocahu I, Graille M. The X-ray crystallography phase problem solved thanks to AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold models: a case-study report. Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol. 2022;78(Pt 4):517-531.
We used different methods (isomorphous replacement, anomalous diffraction and molecular replacement) to determine this structure, but all failed until we straightforwardly succeeded thanks to both AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold models.