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SUMMARY:Are there Underlying Principles of Protein Evolution? Reconsiderin
 g Law and Purpose in Biology - Dr Zachary Ardern
DTSTART:20241022T120000Z
DTEND:20241022T130000Z
UID:TALK220771@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:118591
DESCRIPTION:Organisms typically contain thousands of functional protein mo
 lecules with diverse and complex evolutionary histories. In recent years w
 e have gained unprecedented knowledge of the structure and evolution of th
 ese proteins\, particularly with the use of machine learning innovations s
 uch as AlphaFold. Through massive databases and rapid search tools we are 
 now starting to get a sense of the overall arrangement of the protein univ
 erse\, including some potential general principles of gene origin and evol
 ution. The possibility of long-term trends\, undergirded by natural laws\,
  is reminiscent of some older “structuralist” views of evolution over 
 against the functionalism and adaptationism of the modern synthesis. Consi
 dering both the possibility of long-term trends and the extreme intricacy 
 of protein complexes also helps to resurrect ancient questions about the p
 lace of teleology in biology.
LOCATION:Healey Room\, Westminster College
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