# Alex Pico > Alex Pico is an experimental scientist and software builder with a background in materials science, neuroscience, protein structure and function, bioinformatics, and collaborative disease research. Exploring AI and complex systems. I’m Alex Pico, an experimental scientist and software builder. This page follows the projects I’m working on now, the questions they raise this month, and the field context behind them. My background and publications are at the end. This file is generated from the site's content database. Questions are produced each month by a rule-based pipeline from the records and publications listed here. ## Questions for October 2026 - What does the high school math experiment change about what young people need to practice? (thread: Growing up with AI) - What does the Anthropic–NNSA classifier suggest about how much of the national-laboratory model fits AI? (thread: Frontier labs as national laboratories) - If the bet behind Isomorphic Labs pays off, what changes first in AI-native biotech and drug discovery? (thread: AI-native biology, beyond the announcements) ## Threads - [Growing up with AI](https://xanderpico.com/threads/growing-up-with-ai.html): What should kids and teens practice for themselves and what can they hand to AI, and what does the evidence say so far? - [Frontier labs as national laboratories](https://xanderpico.com/threads/frontier-labs-national-labs.html): As national security and international competition press on the frontier AI labs, which past model of a national laboratory do they come to resemble, and where does the comparison break down? - [AI-native biology, beyond the announcements](https://xanderpico.com/threads/ai-native-biotech.html): What are AI-native biotech companies betting on, how do their approaches differ, and what changes as the work meets reality? ## Selected publications - [A new strontium-copper ethylene glycol complex: synthesis and structure of [Sr(C2H6O2)5][Cu(C2H4O2)2]·C2H6O2](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0020-1693(96)05494-1): Inorganica Chimica Acta, 1997. A synthesis-and-structure study of a strontium–copper ethylene glycol complex. An early publication connecting chemical preparation with structural characterization. - [Local cortical injections of glutamate and noradrenaline alter high-frequency (245Hz) neuronal activity in rat cortex](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0925-2312(99)00069-7): Neurocomputing, 1999. A study of how local cortical injections of glutamate and noradrenaline alter high-frequency neuronal activity in rat cortex. It connects chemical perturbation with the analysis of neural activity. - [Structure of the RCK Domain from the E. coli K+ Channel and Demonstration of Its Presence in the Human BK Channel](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0896-6273(01)00236-7): Neuron, 2001. X-ray crystallography, structure-based sequence alignment, and mutational analysis connect a bacterial potassium-channel regulatory domain to the gating machinery of the human BK channel. - [Structure of the Human BK Channel Ca2+-Activation Apparatus at 3.0 Å Resolution](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1190414): Science, 2010. A structural study of the human BK channel’s calcium-activation apparatus. The work describes a gating ring and calcium-binding sites, linking molecular architecture to channel regulation. - [WikiPathways: pathway editing for the people](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0060184): PLoS Biology, 2008. Introduces a community-curated approach to biological pathways, combining a wiki model with graphical pathway editing. Connects open scientific infrastructure with a practical way to organize and share biological knowledge. - [The BridgeDb framework: standardized access to gene, protein and metabolite identifier mapping services](https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2105-11-5): BMC Bioinformatics, 2010. Presents a shared interface for mapping gene, protein, and metabolite identifiers across different data services. The framework separates analysis tools from individual mapping providers, supporting data integration and multi-omics workflows. - [Cytoscape Automation: empowering workflow-based network analysis](https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-019-1758-4): Genome Biology, 2019. Connects interactive network analysis with scripted Python and R workflows through standardized interfaces. A contribution to making scientific analysis more reproducible, scalable, and reusable. - [Using published pathway figures in enrichment analysis and machine learning](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-023-09816-1): BMC Genomics, 2023. Explores how biological pathway figures from the literature can become a resource for enrichment analysis and machine learning. Includes case studies in cancer subtype and grade prediction, connecting scientific diagrams with computational analysis. - [Glioma Groups Based on 1p/19q, IDH, and TERT Promoter Mutations in Tumors](https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa1407279): New England Journal of Medicine, 2015. Groups gliomas using IDH mutations, TERT promoter mutations, and 1p/19q codeletion, then examines their relationships with clinical features, survival, and inherited variation. An example of connecting molecular classification with the diversity of brain tumors. - [Shared Mechanisms Govern HIV Transcriptional Suppression in Circulating CD103+ and Gut CD4+ T Cells](https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01331-20): Journal of Virology, 2020. Compares viral transcription and host-cell gene expression in blood and gut T cells to investigate HIV latency. The work links tissue-associated immune-cell states with mechanisms that may help maintain persistent infection. - [Incident heart failure in chronic kidney disease: proteomics informs biology and risk stratification](https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae288): European Heart Journal, 2024. Uses large-scale circulating-protein measurements to investigate heart-failure risk in people with chronic kidney disease. Connects proteomics, biological pathways, and risk models across cardiovascular and renal disease. - [Fibrin drives thromboinflammation and neuropathology in COVID-19](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07873-4): Nature, 2024. Investigates how interactions between fibrin and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein contribute to inflammation and neuronal injury. Connects blood clotting, immune activation, and neuropathology; experimental antibody findings are not presented as proven treatment benefits in people. - [Machine learning reveals prominent spontaneous behavioral changes and treatment efficacy in humanized and transgenic Alzheimer's disease models](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114870): Cell Reports, 2024. Applies machine-learning analysis of spontaneous mouse behavior to humanized and transgenic Alzheimer’s disease models. Links behavioral changes with neuroinflammation and evaluates intervention effects in these models—not clinical efficacy in people. ## Research record - 2026-10-19 · [Kevin Roose: Inside the Race to Create an Artificial Superintelligence](https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-10-19/kevin-roose-inside-race-create-artificial-superintelligence): Kevin Roose spoke at the Commonwealth Club on the race to create artificial superintelligence; asked what teens should know, he said the key skill is telling apart tasks that are like weightlifting from tasks that are like forklifting. - 2026-09-24 · [The Existential Risk of AI is Real | Nick Bostrom (The Peter McCormack Show, episode 216)](https://www.petermccormack.com/episodes/216-the-existential-risk-of-ai-is-real-nick-bostrom): Nick Bostrom said it probably makes sense to hedge your bets about near-term AI scenarios, and favored general-purpose skills such as learning new tools and adapting to new circumstances. - 2026-07-22 · [Secretary of Energy Chris Wright Announces First Genesis Mission Projects Selected to Accelerate AI-Driven Scientific Discovery](https://www.energy.gov/articles/secretary-energy-chris-wright-announces-first-genesis-mission-projects-selected-accelerate): After merit review, DOE announced 278 awards: 87 led by DOE and NNSA national laboratories, 168 by universities, 19 by companies and 4 by nonprofits. - 2025-11-24 · [Launching the Genesis Mission](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/11/launching-the-genesis-mission): Executive Order 14363 launches a national AI-for-science effort, compares its urgency and ambition to the Manhattan Project, and directs DOE to run an AI platform that meets national-security requirements. - 2025-10-28 · [Energy Department Announces New Partnership with NVIDIA and Oracle to Build Largest DOE AI Supercomputer](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-new-partnership-nvidia-and-oracle-build-largest-doe-ai): DOE announced Solstice (100,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, the largest AI supercomputer in the DOE lab complex) and Equinox (10,000 GPUs) at Argonne, built with NVIDIA and Oracle. - 2025-09-11 · [FTC Launches Inquiry into AI Chatbots Acting as Companions](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/09/ftc-launches-inquiry-ai-chatbots-acting-companions): The FTC issued 6(b) orders to seven companies (Alphabet, Character Technologies, Instagram, Meta, OpenAI, Snap and X.AI) asking how they test and limit negative effects of companion chatbots on children and teens. - 2025-08-21 · [Developing nuclear safeguards for AI through public-private partnership](https://www.anthropic.com/news/developing-nuclear-safeguards-for-ai-through-public-private-partnership): Anthropic, NNSA and DOE national laboratories co-developed a classifier that separates concerning from benign nuclear-related conversations with 96% accuracy in preliminary testing; Anthropic reports it is deployed on Claude traffic. - 2025-07-16 · [Nearly 3 in 4 Teens Have Used AI Companions, New National Survey Finds](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/nearly-3-in-4-teens-have-used-ai-companions-new-national-survey-finds): Common Sense Media's national survey press release: it calls AI companion use mainstream teen behavior, with about one in three teens having used them for social interaction and relationships. - 2025-06-25 · [Generative AI without guardrails can harm learning: Evidence from high school mathematics](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2422633122): A field experiment with nearly a thousand high school math students: GPT-4 access improved performance while solving problems by 48%, and the study compared a standard chatbot with a tutor version prompted to safeguard learning. - 2025-06-03 · [A generative AI-discovered TNIK inhibitor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a randomized phase 2a trial](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03743-2): Randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2a trial of rentosertib, a TNIK inhibitor described as AI-generated, in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. - 2025-06-03 · [AI tutoring outperforms in-class active learning: an RCT introducing a novel research-based design in an authentic educational setting](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-97652-6): A randomized controlled trial of a research-based AI tutor design in an authentic educational setting, reported in its title to outperform in-class active learning. - 2025-03 · [How AI and Human Behaviors Shape Psychosocial Effects of Extended Chatbot Use: A Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Study](https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.17473): A four-week randomized experiment (n=981) of text and voice chatbot modes: the assigned conditions had no significant effects, but participants who used the chatbot more showed consistently worse outcomes on loneliness, social interaction, emotional dependence and problematic use. - 2025-02-13 · [Boring Cities, AI, and DOGE (World Governments Summit)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34jrkiYRzMY): In a video session at the World Governments Summit, Elon Musk likened raising AI to raising a super-genius child and said being maximally truth-seeking, and curious, is the most important thing to instill for AI safety. - 2024-11-20 · [Recursion completes business combination with Exscientia](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1601830/000160183024000217/exhibit993-closingprexai_r.htm): Two AI-driven drug discovery companies combined, with Exscientia becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Recursion. - 2024-07-16 · [DOE Announces Roadmap for New Initiative for Artificial Intelligence in Science, Security and Technology](https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-roadmap-new-initiative-artificial-intelligence-science-security-and): DOE's roadmap for FASST, an initiative in which DOE and its 17 national laboratories aim to build integrated scientific AI systems for science, energy and national security with academic and industry partners. - 2024-05-08 · [Accurate structure prediction of biomolecular interactions with AlphaFold 3](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07487-w): Predicts joint structures of complexes of proteins, nucleic acids, small molecules, ions and modified residues. - 2023-07-11 · [De novo design of protein structure and function with RFdiffusion](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06415-8): A general diffusion-model framework for de novo protein design, including binder design and higher-order symmetric architectures. - 2021-11 · [Isomorphic Labs announced as a new Alphabet company](https://www.isomorphiclabs.com/articles/introducing-isomorphic-labs): A DeepMind spin-out set up to "reimagine the entire drug discovery process from first principles with an AI-first approach", building on AlphaFold2. - 2021-07-15 · [Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2): AlphaFold predicts protein structures with high accuracy from sequence. ## Pages - [Home](https://xanderpico.com/) - [Selected publications](https://xanderpico.com/bibliography.html) - [RSS feed](https://xanderpico.com/feed.xml) - [Resources](https://xanderpico.com/resources/index.html) - [Frontier labs paths tracker](https://xanderpico.com/resources/frontier-labs-paths/index.html): Nine possible paths for how the US government and frontier AI labs might relate, each with signposts and an estimated probability, re-scored over time.