Cell phones contains around 0.034 grams of gold

Our daily market update from The Parrot Press highlights the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.

The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 2616.04, down 4.5% (-123.93) since 4 p.m. ET on Thursday. None of the 20 assets are trading higher.

Leaders include BTC (-2.5%) and BCH (-3.6%), while laggards include POL (-8.3%) and SUI (-8.3%).

The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.

In a move that’s stirring up conversation, Trump’s official watch is now available for purchase, and it’s not just any luxury item—it’s a symbol of his latest presidential chapter. The watch, which can be bought using Bitcoin or TRUMP tokens on the Solana blockchain, is creating a buzz, both for its exclusivity and the controversial timing.

This limited edition series, each piece individually numbered, marks not just the start of his new term as president but also a bold push to merge politics with the burgeoning world of digital currencies. As the newly inaugurated president, Trump is not only navigating the high-stakes political landscape but is also making his presence felt in the crypto space, all while using his position to further brand his legacy.

For those interested in supporting the Trump brand, purchasing the watch is as easy as selecting the “Solana Pay” option on the website, allowing for payments in either Bitcoin or TRUMP tokens. The question arises: Is this merely a move to capitalize on his newly acquired presidential status, or is it part of a larger strategy to intertwine politics with the growing digital economy?

#BTC

With the country divided, this move is bound to spark debates. Some might see it as a bold entrepreneurial venture, while others could argue it’s an opportunistic exploitation of the presidency. As Trump enters his second term, it’s clear that he’s continuing to push boundaries in ways few expected.

For half a billion years, nature has painstakingly refined proteins through evolution—adapting, mutating, and optimizing biological molecules to sustain life. Now, in a matter of months, artificial intelligence has achieved the same feat, marking a profound leap in biotechnology. The breakthrough, driven by ESM3, an advanced AI system developed by Meta, demonstrates the power of machine learning in revolutionizing how proteins are designed and understood. This technological milestone could fundamentally reshape medicine, bioengineering, materials science, and even the trajectory of life itself.

A New Era of Protein Design

Proteins are the foundation of all living organisms, performing a vast array of functions essential to life. Traditionally, designing new proteins has been an arduous process, requiring insights from nature’s own slow evolutionary experiments. Scientists have long relied on trial-and-error methods and minor modifications of existing proteins to develop new molecules for medicine and industry. Now, AI has completely upended this paradigm.

ESM3, the latest iteration of Meta’s Evolutionary Scale Modeling (ESM) project, is a powerful AI system trained on a database of 2.78 billion proteins. With 98 billion parameters, it ranks among the most sophisticated AI models ever created. Unlike previous computational biology tools, which primarily predict how proteins fold or tweak existing structures, ESM3 designs entirely new proteins from scratch—no natural template required.

From Evolution to Innovation

The true test of any AI-generated protein lies in whether it can function in real biological systems. One of ESM3’s most remarkable achievements is the creation of esmGFP, a glowing green protein that is 58% different from any naturally occurring counterpart. Evolution, operating under the constraints of natural selection, would have required millions of years to produce such a distinct protein. ESM3, in contrast, generated it in a fraction of that time. This discovery not only confirms that AI can create viable, functional proteins but also suggests that AI-driven methods could surpass evolutionary constraints to develop new biomolecules with unprecedented properties.

Implications for Medicine and Biotechnology

The ability to design proteins on demand opens the door to groundbreaking applications in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and bioengineering. Some of the most immediate and profound impacts could include:

1. Drug Discovery & Personalized Medicine
   • AI-generated proteins could lead to new treatments for diseases that currently have no cure. Instead of modifying existing proteins, scientists can now create entirely new therapeutic molecules tailored to target specific conditions.
   • Personalized medicine could see a breakthrough as AI helps design customized proteins based on an individual’s genetic makeup, improving the efficacy of treatments.
2. Stronger Materials & Sustainable Solutions
   • Proteins are already used in materials science to create biodegradable plastics, stronger fibers, and self-healing materials. AI-driven protein design could accelerate these developments, yielding materials that are stronger, lighter, and more sustainable than anything nature has evolved.
   • Enzymes optimized by AI could enhance industrial processes by increasing efficiency and reducing waste, leading to more environmentally friendly manufacturing.
3. Advancing Clean Energy
   • AI-designed proteins could contribute to the development of biofuels and artificial photosynthesis, offering innovative ways to harness energy sustainably.
   • Custom enzymes could help break down pollutants, aiding in environmental cleanup efforts and combating climate change.
4. Food Security & Agriculture
   • The food industry could benefit from AI-driven proteins that improve crop resilience, enhance nutrition, and develop alternative protein sources for a growing global population.
   • Synthetic proteins designed for lab-grown meat or dairy alternatives could make plant-based and cultured foods more affordable and scalable, reducing reliance on traditional livestock farming.

Could AI Predict the Future of Life?

Beyond practical applications, AI’s ability to generate proteins from scratch raises an even more profound question: Can AI predict the future of biological evolution?

Evolution operates through random mutations and natural selection, which shape organisms over millions of years. However, AI can now explore biological possibilities that nature has never encountered. By modeling potential evolutionary paths, AI systems like ESM3 could offer insights into how life might adapt to new environments, evolve under extreme conditions, or even arise on other planets.

This capability has profound implications for astrobiology, synthetic biology, and our fundamental understanding of life itself. If AI can generate proteins that nature never produced, could it also help us anticipate the next stage of evolution—or even guide it?

AI-Designed Proteins: A Turning Point for Science

The development of ESM3 is more than just a scientific milestone—it represents a paradigm shift in how we understand and manipulate the fundamental molecules of life. Unlike previous advances in computational biology, which focused on deciphering natural proteins, ESM3 demonstrates that AI can now invent them. This puts us on the cusp of a future where scientists no longer have to wait for nature’s slow evolutionary experiments. Instead, they can create entirely new biological solutions in real time.

With AI-driven protein design moving from theory to reality, we are entering an era where the boundaries of medicine, biotechnology, and materials science are no longer set by evolution, but by human ingenuity.

The question is no longer whether AI can change life as we know it—it already has. The only question now is: What will we create next?

Source: bioRxiv