Credit: Rafael C. Bernardi, Auburn PhysicsResearchers have used artificial intelligence to help uncover how certain protein interactions act like a finger trap, gripping tighter the harder they are pulled. These interactions, known as catch-bonds, are essential in how the body holds together under stress and how bacteria attach to cells. The researchers suggest that a better understanding of these bonds could help inform the design of new medications and biomaterials. The team ran 200 independent simulations on cellulosomes, a bacterial protein complex with one of the strongest known catch-bond systems in nature. The researchers then trained AI regression models to predict when the protein complex would break.