The following two fields have barely interacted before: artificial intelligence and molecular evolution. To demonstrate proof of concept, we established a machine-learning-based framework that substantially boosts tree-search algorithms, without compromising accuracy!

By Andreas Lange, Prajal H. Patel and Geoffrey D. Findlay. In a collaboration that spanned three continents, we analysed the structure, function, and evolutionary history of a Drosophila protein that emerged from previously non-coding DNA and has since become essential for male fertility.