The research by Turkish scientists who developed the 'invisible keys' technology in drug design offers a critical opportunity to accelerate the drug development process
Turkish scientists have unveiled a computational breakthrough that could significantly accelerate drug development by targeting the "control rooms" of viruses and disease-causing proteins.
Challenging the high cost and lengthy timelines of traditional pharmaceutical research, the new study offers a data-driven pathway that may streamline how therapies are designed and tested.
The research, conducted by associate professor Özge Kürkçüoğlu and her student Merve Yüce at Istanbul Technical University's Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, has been published in the journal Proteins and offers data that will resonate in the worlds of health technology and pharmacology.
Tested on the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), the newly developed computational network models demonstrate the potential to dramatically shorten the early stages of drug design, where time is often the most critical factor.
Finding tunnels instead of forcing locked doors
To understand the working principle of this new technology, we can liken the disease-causing proteins in the human body to a high-security, complex bank vault.
Conventional drugs typically attempt to get inside by forcing the vault's main door or jamming the lock. However, this method can sometimes damage the building where the vault is located (healthy cells) as well.
This emerging new research, however, uses a digital architectural blueprint (network model) of the protein. Instead of struggling with the vault's door, it finds a hidden light switch (allosteric site) in a far-off corner of the building. When this switch is flipped, the power to the vault is cut, and the system collapses.
The "Residue Interaction Network" (RIN) model maps out exactly where these hidden switches are and which walls the electrical cables (signal communication) pass through, all within seconds.
Decoding 'second secret of life'
If DNA is considered the alphabet of life, allostery can be described as its grammar. The concept, famously referred to as the "second secret of life" by Nobel laureate Jacques Monod, explains how proteins change shape to regulate biological processes like intelligent molecular switches.
Turkish scientists are focusing on the "second secret of life." In the global pharmaceutical industry, identifying allosteric regions through laboratory experiments is typically expensive and labor-intensive.
However, the computational models developed by the Turkish team offer a cost-effective solution that eliminates these expenses.
The studies, which began during Kürkçüoğlu's doctoral studies at Boğaziçi University, have reached a critical stage for the pharmaceutical sector through work conducted at a laboratory at Istanbul Technical University.
Performance analyses on SARS-CoV-2 Mpro datasets highlight the global relevance of the model. The developed RIN framework successfully identified known drug-binding sites with 89.2% accuracy. While the model's specificity was measured at 89.7%, its sensitivity reached a high precision level of 80.0%.
The multiscale coarse-grained anisotropic network model (mcgANM) used in the study can also predict structural changes in proteins that will occur in the protein structure after a drug (ligand) binds.
Road map for next-generation therapeutics
Beyond locating disease-related targets, the research divides protein structures into dynamic domains, revealing how the components of a biological machine are organized and interact.
The model's ability to interpret "allosteric communication signals" could play a critical role in designing highly selective drugs with fewer side effects.
The computational efficiency demonstrated in the study could prove especially valuable in global health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, where accelerating drug discovery timelines may become one of the most powerful tools in combating emerging crises.
Türk Telekom rolls out '5G for Everyone' initiative ahead of April launch
One of Türkiye's leading telecoms and technology companies, Türk Telekom is ready for the next-generation connectivity era, leveraging its extensive fiber infrastructure and what it describes as the highest per-subscriber capacity entitlement in 5G.
Under the message "5G for Everyone from Türk Telekom," the operator will allow customers to transition to 5G without paying any additional fees.
As Türkiye prepares to activate 5G services nationwide from April 1, Türk Telekom, which reports the highest ratio of fiber-connected base stations in the country, says it aims to maintain a leading role in the 5G era.
The company says that its fiber backbone, which forms the foundation of 5G performance, positions it to deliver a high-capacity and stable user experience across the country.
Free-of-charge switch
Zeynep Özden, deputy general manager for marketing and customer experience at Türk Telekom, says that the company is acting with a vision to make 5G accessible for everyone.
"We are bringing 5G technology, which opens the doors to a new era in Türkiye's digital transformation, to our customers as of April 1. As Türk Telekom, with our strong fiber infrastructure and the highest capacity usage rights per subscriber in 5G, we are ready to offer the best 5G experience," Özden said.
"By turning our fiber strength, which forms the foundation of 5G, into an advantage, we continue our pioneering role in the 5G era as the operator with the highest ratio of fiber-connected base stations," she noted.
Referring to the company's "5G for everyone from Türk Telekom" commercial, Özden says customers will be able to switch to 5G without any additional charges.
"Our top priority is to make 5G, which will accelerate life in Türkiye's 81 provinces and rural areas, accessible to everyone," she noted.
"With our strong infrastructure, technological expertise, and customer-oriented approach, we are carrying our country into a new era of communication."
Reshaping mobile domain
Meanwhile, Özden also pointed to the company's recent performance in the mobile market, saying Türk Telekom has become more than just a participant in the sector.
"While maintaining our steady growth in mobile, we are positioned not just as a player in the sector, but as a brand that changes the dynamics of the game," she said.
"Being the most preferred operator in the mobile number portability market in recent years is the most concrete indicator of our customers' trust in us," she added.
According to third quarter 2025 market data published by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), Türk Telekom ranked second in total mobile subscribers and was the operator that gained the most customers through number portability during the period, reinforcing its position in the competitive mobile segment.
212 NexT invests in advanced chemistry tech startup Aepnus
212 NexT, an advanced materials-focused investment fund backed by one of Türkiye's most experienced venture capital firms, 212, has invested in electrochemical technologies developer Aepnus in its pre-Series A funding round.
U.S.-based Aepnus, co-founded by Turkish entrepreneurs, plans to use the funding to expand its team, advance global projects, broaden collaborations with new industrial customers and strengthen its commercial and technical infrastructure ahead of a Series A round.
The company is developing a greener alternative to traditional chemical production, enabling the manufacture of essential chemicals with a lower carbon footprint and without generating hazardous by-products. Its solutions target industries including chemicals, heavy industry, critical minerals and industrial manufacturing.
Green transformation potential
Çağlar Urcan, managing partner at 212 NexT, said Aepnus addresses structural challenges in the production of essential chemicals such as caustic soda, which are critical for many industries and often subject to supply security and cost pressures.
"Aepnus offers a solution to a structural problem that creates supply security and cost pressures in essential chemicals such as caustic soda, which are of critical importance for many sectors. Simultaneously, it presents a powerful green technology approach that makes industrial production more sustainable," said Urcan.
With its modular electrochemical infrastructure, the company enables on-site production at competitive costs without producing hazardous by-products, he noted, adding that the commercially viable model presents scalable growth potential.
"In this perspective, the fact that one of our lead investors, the Akkök Group, is a major player in Türkiye's chlor-alkali and specialty chemicals fields provides a strong background of industrial experience," Urcan said.
Emphasizing that Aepnus also holds strategic value, Urcan continued: "Considering that Türkiye is a market significantly involved in foreign trade for basic chemicals like caustic and sulfuric acid, the potential to bring such innovative production technologies to Türkiye in the medium term holds important strategic potential for supply security, industrial competitiveness and green transformation."
"As 212 NexT, our approach of investing in technologies with strong scientific foundations that are applicable on an industrial scale and create strategic value clearly aligns with Aepnus," he added.
Scaling technology globally
Bilen Aküzüm, co-founder and chief technology officer of Aepnus, said the company is developing a new electrochemical production model for essential chemicals that cannot easily be localized through existing manufacturing processes.
"Türkiye today allocates more than $150 million annually for caustic soda imports alone," Aküzüm said. "Our approach aims to strengthen supply security by enabling these types of critical chemicals to be produced on-site, safely and in a more sustainable manner."
He added that Aepnus' technologies offer a more economical and scalable solution for producing caustic soda and sulfuric acid, widely used in sectors ranging from batteries, paper and textiles to heavy industry, as well as in the processing of critical metals and minerals such as aluminum, boron, lithium, nickel and cobalt.
"With the support of 212 NexT, we are focusing on commercializing this technology on a global scale," Aküzüm said.