On Dec. 4, 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) researchers, in an effort to automate scientific discovery announced they have created a virtual laboratory that combines several ‘AI scientists’ — large language models with defined scientific roles — that can collaborate to achieve goals set by human researchers.

The system, described in a preprint posted on bioRxiv, was able to design antibody fragments called nanobodies that can bind to the virus that causes COVID-19, proposing nearly 100 of these structures in a fraction of the time it would take an all-human research group.

Scientists worldwide have explored the potential of large language models (LLMs) to speed up research — including creating an ‘AI scientist’ that can carry out parts of the scientific process, from generating hypotheses and designing experiments to drafting papers. Other studies narrowly focused the application of LLMs for specific experiments.