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Monday, September 19, 2011

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News


Gamers succeed where scientists fail: Molecular structure of retrovirus enzyme solved, doors open to new AIDS drug design

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 11:49 AM PDT

Online gamers have solved the structure of a retrovirus enzyme whose configuration had stumped scientists for over a decade. This is the first instance that researchers are aware of in which gamers solved a longstanding scientific problem. The discovery was achieved through Foldit, which allows players to collaborate and compete in predicting protein molecule structures. Foldit is an example of engaging the public in scientific discovery by using games to solve hard problems that can't be solved by either people or computers alone.

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