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 Baby_Hitler
Anarcho-Technologist
Registered: 03/06/02
Posts: 18,693
Loc: To the limit!
Last seen: 10 hours, 3 minutes
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 Foldit- New protein folding "game"
#8415924 - 05/18/08 10:39 AM (6 months, 2 days ago) |
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http://www.economist.com/science/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=11326188
Return to the fold
May 8th 2008
From The Economist print edition
Playing with proteins
FOR sheer adrenaline, the new computer game “foldit”, does not match the likes of “Grand Theft Auto IV”. But for the world's obsessive problem solvers, a three-dimensional Tetris which allows them to help design a new life-saving vaccine seems certain to be a hit.
“foldit” is the latest incarnation of a project, called Rosetta@home, that uses spare computer time, via a screensaver, to work out how proteins fold. Proteins are the building blocks of life inside cells; they are first made as long chains of molecules and work properly only after they have folded into their final shape. But understanding the rules of protein folding remains one of biology's central problems.
The existing program uses trial and error, and pre-programmed mathematical rules that govern folding as understood today. But users of the screensaver told David Baker, a biochemist at the University of Washington and lead scientist on Rosetta@home, they could do better. So Dr Baker, Zoran Popovic, a computer scientist at the University of Washington, and graduate students Seth Cooper and Adrien Treuille set about creating a compelling computer game.
Players use their computers to fold proteins. The more chemically stable the folded protein becomes, the more points the players are awarded. In trials of the game hundreds of players were given 40 protein puzzles to solve (for the trials, the folding solutions were already known). Many of the best players were not scientists but were able to find the correct structure faster than computers.
The next big step will be to give players proteins for which the optimal folding is not known. They will then be doing cutting-edge research in protein-structure prediction. If all goes well, the game will move on to protein design this summer, by including options that allow players to modify sections of the protein. This will allow them to design a protein that blocks the action of a virus.
Although this may strike some as a remarkable bit of scientific outsourcing, the group is adamant that players who make breakthroughs will share in the scientific glory. This places parents of young “foldit” enthusiasts in a quandary: should they tell their children to stop playing games and get on with their homework, or encourage them to continue playing and possibly share in a Nobel prize?
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 leoside
Just nod if youcan hear me
Registered: 01/18/08
Posts: 725
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Re: Foldit- New protein folding "game" [Re: Baby_Hitler]
#8415973 - 05/18/08 11:08 AM (6 months, 2 days ago) |
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haha cool
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waiting for sedation to disconnect my head
or any situation where i'm better off then dead
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