Curious since AlphaFold got released: have classical molecular dynamics sims in this area become obsolete, at least for protein folding? How does the research coming out of venues like DESRES compare? Are they working on more specific problems in the same area or are they in a different business altogether?
No. AlphaFold doesn't do dynamics; it does end-state snapshots only. It does not do anything about the motion of the atoms, which is the core functionality of MD.
MD was never really a viable way to do structure prediction, so it didn't become obsolete with AlphaFold. Instead, MD is more useful for studying the physical process of protein folding (before the protein folds to its final structure, as well as once it has reached its final structure and sort of jiggles and wiggles around that).
MD simulations typically aren’t run for time scales that tell you anything about the folding process. Most people are looking at motion after the protein has folded.
