Google DeepMind Adds Watermarks to AI-Designed Proteins Without Breaking Them

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Google DeepMind has found a way to stamp a secret signature into AI-designed proteins, and the proteins still do their jobs.

The company introduced SynthID Bio on Wednesday as a proof of concept for tracing biological designs created with AI. The technology embeds detectable patterns into protein sequences and predicted 3D structures. Laboratory tests found that watermarked protein binders retained their function, while the structural approach largely preserved prediction accuracy.

The research, published in Nature, tackles a growing biosecurity problem: AI can generate biological designs that may differ substantially from known threats, making their origins harder to determine using conventional screening methods.

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