Researchers have made a new breakthrough in this biotechnology, creating improved proteins for mammalian cells by first evolving the proteins in altered viral cells. Future uses of directed evolution include proteins that better tolerate certain medical treatments and even antibodies that are fine-tuned to detect cancer earlier than ever. PROTEUS (PROTein Evolution Using Selection) is the brainchild of molecular biologist Christopher Denes of the University of Sydney and his research team. A team of researchers won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of directed evolution. The problem with evolving proteins directly in mammalian cells is their susceptibility to mutations in their genomes during multiple rounds of evolution.