Finally, online gamers actually do something useful. Scientists gave them a molecular puzzle of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that had confused them for over a decade. It only took the nerds three weeks to figure it out. University of Washington scientists presented their puzzle to the gamers in the form of an online game called Foldit...
This is where Foldit comes in.
Developed in 2008 by the University of Washington, it is a fun-for-purpose video game in which gamers, divided into competing groups, compete to unfold chains of amino acids -- the building blocks of proteins -- using a set of online tools.
To the astonishment of the scientists, the gamers produced an accurate model of the enzyme in just three weeks.
A spokesperson for the gamers said, "Our main objective was to be considered for the Nobel Prize for Medicine. After that, we hope to move out of our parents' basement."
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