Player online gaming Foldit managed to find the structure of an enzyme linked to AIDS from monkeys in a few weeks. Scientists stumbled upon the puzzle for ten years.
Ten years that scientists looking for the real shape of an enzyme linked to AIDS in a type of monkey, the rhesus macaque. It only took three weeks to a team of players online to find the solution, which may lead to a significant research against AIDS in humans. A performance made possible by the serious game Foldit ("bend it" in English), developed by the departments of computer science and biochemistry at the University of Washington.
Proteins, which include enzymes, play a vital role in the human body. In the case of AIDS from monkeys, discovered the enzyme, type retroviral protease contributes to the spread of the virus within the body. To prevent such proliferation, scientists must know the actual structure in three dimensions, of this enzyme in order to create a drug that can stop it.
Although it is relatively easy to know the composition of a protein, it is much more difficult to know its shape in three dimensions. Proteins are composed of amino acids linked by peptide bonds said. These can rotate or bend, to give the protein its final form. The possible combinations are enormous. And computers used by scientists struggle to "guess" what combination is most effective.
Sharing human intelligenceThis is where online gambling is involved Foldit. Its creator, Seth Cooper, has gone from a simple observation. "People thinking skills in space much greater than that of computers," said he. Therefore, rather than consolidate the power of multiple computers to perform complex calculations, will share Foldit human brains with a video game.
The game then the players, individually or in teams, "crushing" the chains of amino acids of a protein to find its true virtual form, respecting the basic rules of chemistry. Initially, Foldit included only proteins whose actual shape was known to scientists. By manipulating these models in three dimensions by humans, the creators of the game trying to understand the mechanics of the human brain for reasoning in space. Data that could be exploited later to improve the capabilities of computers.
Nearly 240,000 people have played Foldit since its launch in 2008. And biochemists are not the most talented in this puzzle game. In 2008, Foldit players participated in an international competition of protein folding. And against all odds, these fans have held a candle to the scientists.
One of the most talented players he was only 13 years old at the time. When asked by researchers on reasoning to find the best combination, the latter merely shrugged his shoulders in response that it "seemed more like it," recalls Wired. "Fold is proof that a game can turn a novice into an expert," said Zoran Popovic, a professor of computer science at the University of Washington
A discovery published in NatureRecently, the creators of Foldit embarked on a new challenge: to floor the best players on the structure of proteins on which the scientific community stops. Thus the team "Contender", consisting of fifteen people, focused on the enzyme rhesus macaque. "Players have a variety of profiles, some work in computer science or the scientific community, but the best are out of it," said "Mimi," which belongs to the team Contender at MSNBC. "One of the main features of Folder is the instant chat feature, built into the game Contender members living in Canada, the United States, Europe and New Zealand, it was essential to communicate."
In ten days, players have found a probable structure of the enzyme. This response was forwarded to scientists, who refined over several days the model proposed by the players. Based on the ideas of these fans, they were able to find the exact model of the protein. This discovery led to an article published in the journal Nature. "We solved a small piece of the puzzle that will allow us to combat AIDS," says the author of the article, Firas Khatir, a biochemist at the University of Washington, MSNBC.
"The results released this week show that by combining gaming, and computer science, we arrive at the advances that were not previously possible," said Seth Cooper. For some scientists, experience shows that the game Foldit could revolutionize the way we teach math and science in school.
Ten years that scientists looking for the real shape of an enzyme linked to AIDS in a type of monkey, the rhesus macaque. It only took three weeks to a team of players online to find the solution, which may lead to a significant research against AIDS in humans. A performance made possible by the serious game Foldit ("bend it" in English), developed by the departments of computer science and biochemistry at the University of Washington.
Proteins, which include enzymes, play a vital role in the human body. In the case of AIDS from monkeys, discovered the enzyme, type retroviral protease contributes to the spread of the virus within the body. To prevent such proliferation, scientists must know the actual structure in three dimensions, of this enzyme in order to create a drug that can stop it.
Although it is relatively easy to know the composition of a protein, it is much more difficult to know its shape in three dimensions. Proteins are composed of amino acids linked by peptide bonds said. These can rotate or bend, to give the protein its final form. The possible combinations are enormous. And computers used by scientists struggle to "guess" what combination is most effective.
Sharing human intelligenceThis is where online gambling is involved Foldit. Its creator, Seth Cooper, has gone from a simple observation. "People thinking skills in space much greater than that of computers," said he. Therefore, rather than consolidate the power of multiple computers to perform complex calculations, will share Foldit human brains with a video game.
The game then the players, individually or in teams, "crushing" the chains of amino acids of a protein to find its true virtual form, respecting the basic rules of chemistry. Initially, Foldit included only proteins whose actual shape was known to scientists. By manipulating these models in three dimensions by humans, the creators of the game trying to understand the mechanics of the human brain for reasoning in space. Data that could be exploited later to improve the capabilities of computers.
Nearly 240,000 people have played Foldit since its launch in 2008. And biochemists are not the most talented in this puzzle game. In 2008, Foldit players participated in an international competition of protein folding. And against all odds, these fans have held a candle to the scientists.
One of the most talented players he was only 13 years old at the time. When asked by researchers on reasoning to find the best combination, the latter merely shrugged his shoulders in response that it "seemed more like it," recalls Wired. "Fold is proof that a game can turn a novice into an expert," said Zoran Popovic, a professor of computer science at the University of Washington
A discovery published in NatureRecently, the creators of Foldit embarked on a new challenge: to floor the best players on the structure of proteins on which the scientific community stops. Thus the team "Contender", consisting of fifteen people, focused on the enzyme rhesus macaque. "Players have a variety of profiles, some work in computer science or the scientific community, but the best are out of it," said "Mimi," which belongs to the team Contender at MSNBC. "One of the main features of Folder is the instant chat feature, built into the game Contender members living in Canada, the United States, Europe and New Zealand, it was essential to communicate."
In ten days, players have found a probable structure of the enzyme. This response was forwarded to scientists, who refined over several days the model proposed by the players. Based on the ideas of these fans, they were able to find the exact model of the protein. This discovery led to an article published in the journal Nature. "We solved a small piece of the puzzle that will allow us to combat AIDS," says the author of the article, Firas Khatir, a biochemist at the University of Washington, MSNBC.
"The results released this week show that by combining gaming, and computer science, we arrive at the advances that were not previously possible," said Seth Cooper. For some scientists, experience shows that the game Foldit could revolutionize the way we teach math and science in school.
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