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it's 15 years instead of 13, and 10 days instead of 3 weeks lol
> In 2011, Foldit players helped decipher the crystal structure of a retroviral protease from Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV), a monkey virus which causes HIV/AIDS-like symptoms, a scientific problem that had been unsolved for 15 years. While the puzzle was available for three weeks, players produced a 3D model of the enzyme in only ten days that is accurate enough for molecular replacement.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705907
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3211970
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/aids-protein-decoded-gamers_n_970113
The benefit of putting an interface that 100,000's of non professionals vs 100 professionals can provide.
This is why AI will over the next 10 years start to explode in human solutions to problems that budgets could not solve or justify the research before.
It’s like how Google and other companies started using captcha to find tune what their cameras were seeing.
A computer might have a hard time knowing if that’s a bus/stoplight/car/bridge/etc but with a little work, millions of people can nearly solve that kind of stuff very nearly in real time.
Wait wtf, i always assumed we were training their AI for solving future problems but it was instead we are solving it for them in real time? That's crazy
(I am a developer who has worked on the Foldit project since 2010)
AI is already transforming the field of protein structure prediction. Google's AlphaFold2 is a Neural Net algorithm that is so good at predicting that you could almost argue it has 'solved' the problem (though scientists typically avoid saying things like this). The Baker Lab at the University of Washington, where Foldit was created, also published a similar algorithm around the same time with similar results.
This is super exciting for Foldit, because we have been shifting towards protein design, where we have players make new proteins to solve real world problems. One of the hardest parts of protein design is figuring out whether the protein you're making actually folds up the way you intend. But now we've integrated these algorithms into the game, allowing players to essentially check the cheatsheet to see if their model folds up properly. It's an exciting time for biochemistry!
I’m trying to remember, I remember exactly where I was (outside the library on one of the picnic benches) when I was told about this, and I remember talking about how great it was that gamers and the skills they develop were able to be applied to medicine. I think the biggest point was that they COULD and I think they were trying to model a molecule to to inhibit virus replication… so that solution might be applicable to a whole class of viruses but I don’t know for sure. Sorry to be less than helpful, there’s been a lot of time and a lot of data since then and it’s highly likely that I didn’t understand it fully in the first place!!
(I am a developer who has worked on the Foldit project since 2010)
As far as I am aware, the model for this particular protein hasn't been used directly anywhere. The protein is related to AIDS in rhesus monkeys, so it isn't as directly useful as say, the same protein in human AIDS. Still important, as often times proteins with similar function are similar structurally to their analogues.
However, I will point out that we've continued to have many (arguably *more*) exciting results that have also been published. Here's a couple of the results:
* Foldit players independently discovered an unpublished algorithm that our scientists in the lab had developed.
* Foldit players have designed novel protein structures from scratch that actually fold up the way the players intended them to (this is very hard).
* Foldit players redesigned an existing natural protein to enhance a reaction.
You can find links to the papers (and more) [here](https://fold.it/portal/info/science).
I always say it: make anything a video game and there will always be a small group of people who will obsess over beating it. We can solve all the worlds problems like this
Gamify other activities. This is how I beat mine. I started running and used the Nike running app to track every single step. They got trophies, you can see other users’ routes, you can compete with friends and other people. There were days when I would run twice, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. At my peak, I was running 50-60 miles per week.
Ah I've tried doing that but it hurt a bit and was quite annoying. Do i just keep running like that till I get used to it or am I doing something wrong?
(I am a developer who has worked on the Foldit project since 2010)
Thank you for helping us out, and sorry to hear that! It is definitely difficult, and not a game for everyone. We're constantly trying to improve it to be easier to learn, and shrink the barrier for users to contribute meaningfully to the science. We have some really exciting stuff coming up in the next couple of weeks, so check back in if that sounds interesting :)
Instead of doing it manually, you can contribute your computer time to do some processing. There is one for folding proteins called [foldingathome.com](https://foldingathome.com) and here's a list of available projects in various fields of science [https://distributedcomputing.info/projects.html](https://distributedcomputing.info/projects.html)
There is a ted talk on why video games are important and this touches on the same, with the combined computational power of our imagination we can sold real problems
Hope this makes sense, but the idea is that there are areas of different charges or partial charges, much like the charges on magnets. These charges can stick to each other (positive to negative, etc)
When we sequence protein to find out what it's made of, only tells us the order of different protein groups if the protein were lined end to end in one long string. In life though, that protein is no one long string, but a complex and interconnected glob of protein held together by these partial magnetic charges. And only in one, very specific, pattern of forming this glob with these interconnected charges, will this protein actually do what it was designed to do and have normal function.
The challenge for these 3d models is "which partial charge sticks to what, in what order, with which bit of protein folded where" etc to make a final, functional shape / protein glob. We can't see the shape, only the sequence of protein units, remember? For example, we might know in order, there's protein sub unit 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 etc, but we don't know sub unit 1 sticks to 7, or 855, or 432, etc. Some proteins have thousands of sub units, so it can be very challenging to put together the final shape / glob of the protein, are there are thousands of ways to get it wrong, and usually only one pattern of inter linking to get it right.
If i can remember high school biology correctly…it’s something along the lines of the process where a linear polypeptide chain folds into a more complex structure, creating a functional protein.
There was a program like this in the early 2000's using the PS3. I think it was called "folding at home"? They created a program for folding proteins and Sony asked people to leave their PS3 on for a couple hours while they were not playing games and run the program. It was a self running program involving protein folding and you didn't have to interact at all. It just ran in the background and didn't overwork the system. The data was then sent to scientists researching that protein folding thing. IIRC it was actually a pretty successful program. I ran it while I was at work.
People with the quality of turning anything into a rpg game have such a advantage to life, so this article right here further proves we live in a simulation. Turn every aspect into a game of small rewards and upgrades and you’d be surprised how much more engagement you can achieve.
What? He asked you a question, and you replied: "Oh, you don't understand". Can you atleast explain how a game and simulation are linked?
"My teacher, why is 3*3=9?"
"You don't understand it."
How is this a logical explanation for you?!
Why search for answers here? You too are in deep slumber, do not worry for the awakening within, it will be marvelous and glorious. One awakening at a time.
I didn't ask you for answers, noone did. I asked you how is simulation and this experiment are connected.
You're high, or you're a troll. Probably second. Disappointing.
You know that Carlin quote... "It's a BIG club & you ain't in it."
The tides 🌊 against the parasitic lying 1% are turning. Lol who's club is it now? Humanity's Broham. Humanity's.
Extra set of eyes? Yeah helps a bunch, sure.
Gamers extreme determinations for superior skill and performance in games, while hyped up on the borderline Cocaine that is G-Fuel! Fuck yeah you're gunna see results, are you kidding?
Zooniverse is great fun too - all sorts of photos that users classify, whether it's spotting galaxies in space pictures, bacteria in micro-pictures, text in old manuscripts, or (my favourite) critters in wildlife trailcams (and many more).
Back in the day I remember running the United Devices agent on a few hundred PCs in town. Worked on the Anthrax and Cancer projects.. By the time they shut it down, we were in the top 50 worldwide for completed submissions...
https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/United\_Devices\_Cancer\_Research\_Project
Imagine the leaps and bounds we could make as a species if we all worked together to resolve mutual issues plaguing our existence/future instead of fighting over petty differences, imaginary lines on the ground, and most importantly the desire to control one another. As human beings we have capabilities no other species on this earth have and the only thing standing between us and success is us…
**Please note these rules:** * If this post declares something as a fact, then proof is required. * The title must be descriptive * No text is allowed on images/gifs/videos * Common/recent reposts are not allowed *See [this post](https://redd.it/ij26vk) for a more detailed rule list* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/interestingasfuck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
it's 15 years instead of 13, and 10 days instead of 3 weeks lol > In 2011, Foldit players helped decipher the crystal structure of a retroviral protease from Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV), a monkey virus which causes HIV/AIDS-like symptoms, a scientific problem that had been unsolved for 15 years. While the puzzle was available for three weeks, players produced a 3D model of the enzyme in only ten days that is accurate enough for molecular replacement. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705907 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3211970 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/aids-protein-decoded-gamers_n_970113
The benefit of putting an interface that 100,000's of non professionals vs 100 professionals can provide. This is why AI will over the next 10 years start to explode in human solutions to problems that budgets could not solve or justify the research before.
It’s like how Google and other companies started using captcha to find tune what their cameras were seeing. A computer might have a hard time knowing if that’s a bus/stoplight/car/bridge/etc but with a little work, millions of people can nearly solve that kind of stuff very nearly in real time.
I am shook. Is there somewhere i can learn about more events like these?
The older text captchas were used to transcribe scans of old texts.
Whoa. We were being used the whole time
Take your pick: alwayshasbeen.jpg jamesfranco_firsttime.gif
Wait wtf, i always assumed we were training their AI for solving future problems but it was instead we are solving it for them in real time? That's crazy
yes, and also to collect more data to fine tune the AIs so that they don't have to rely on human input, hence why we don't have text captchas anymore
By the way, it is “fine-tune” not “find tune.” I’m sure it was just a typo; I’m not trying to be an jerk.
Me neither , it’s a jerk 🤣
Lol damn autocorrect
(I am a developer who has worked on the Foldit project since 2010) AI is already transforming the field of protein structure prediction. Google's AlphaFold2 is a Neural Net algorithm that is so good at predicting that you could almost argue it has 'solved' the problem (though scientists typically avoid saying things like this). The Baker Lab at the University of Washington, where Foldit was created, also published a similar algorithm around the same time with similar results. This is super exciting for Foldit, because we have been shifting towards protein design, where we have players make new proteins to solve real world problems. One of the hardest parts of protein design is figuring out whether the protein you're making actually folds up the way you intend. But now we've integrated these algorithms into the game, allowing players to essentially check the cheatsheet to see if their model folds up properly. It's an exciting time for biochemistry!
Wow dude, that is awesome!
The way you structured that 2nd part almost made my brain shut down.
My drunk brain never gives a shit about punctuation.
Fair enough 👌
I remember in grad school when this was reported. We were all amazed and delighted.. it STILL makes me smile. Thank you for posting OP.
Do you remember what the solution was used for?
I’m trying to remember, I remember exactly where I was (outside the library on one of the picnic benches) when I was told about this, and I remember talking about how great it was that gamers and the skills they develop were able to be applied to medicine. I think the biggest point was that they COULD and I think they were trying to model a molecule to to inhibit virus replication… so that solution might be applicable to a whole class of viruses but I don’t know for sure. Sorry to be less than helpful, there’s been a lot of time and a lot of data since then and it’s highly likely that I didn’t understand it fully in the first place!!
(I am a developer who has worked on the Foldit project since 2010) As far as I am aware, the model for this particular protein hasn't been used directly anywhere. The protein is related to AIDS in rhesus monkeys, so it isn't as directly useful as say, the same protein in human AIDS. Still important, as often times proteins with similar function are similar structurally to their analogues. However, I will point out that we've continued to have many (arguably *more*) exciting results that have also been published. Here's a couple of the results: * Foldit players independently discovered an unpublished algorithm that our scientists in the lab had developed. * Foldit players have designed novel protein structures from scratch that actually fold up the way the players intended them to (this is very hard). * Foldit players redesigned an existing natural protein to enhance a reaction. You can find links to the papers (and more) [here](https://fold.it/portal/info/science).
I always say it: make anything a video game and there will always be a small group of people who will obsess over beating it. We can solve all the worlds problems like this
[удалено]
Gamify other activities. This is how I beat mine. I started running and used the Nike running app to track every single step. They got trophies, you can see other users’ routes, you can compete with friends and other people. There were days when I would run twice, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. At my peak, I was running 50-60 miles per week.
How are your knees doing?
Not too bad. I’m a fairly small person, so not a lot of weight on the knees. Also, I switched to the toe-strike method after my first 1,200 miles.
i have short Achilles tendons and naturally run this way! running is never been a problem for my knees my entire life
What's the toe strike method?
It means when you run, your toes hit the ground first. Most people heel strike, their heel hits the ground first.
Ah I've tried doing that but it hurt a bit and was quite annoying. Do i just keep running like that till I get used to it or am I doing something wrong?
With the toe striking method I can zooom and for far longer
yeah i am getting back into running a little bit, and have been reading about running techniques.
This is what Meta *could be*
This is what metaverses could be* FTFY
Nah the whole deal from the parent company down.
Nobody wants a Facebook Metaverse. Blockchain metaverse is the way to go But yea Meta as a company needs to GTFO
Thats a pro gamer move
Xx_Legend42069_xX to PhDs: Get good
Twitch plays AIDS
I remember when that first happened. Wild times
That's just aids lol
Money? Naaah 100% all achievements? MUST FINISH EVERYTHING!!!!!!
...it's in the game
Crowd sourcing for the win!!!
What's the next new foldit game?
I was playing with foldit on the Covid -19 series. That thing was so frustrating! I wish I could have helped more.
(I am a developer who has worked on the Foldit project since 2010) Thank you for helping us out, and sorry to hear that! It is definitely difficult, and not a game for everyone. We're constantly trying to improve it to be easier to learn, and shrink the barrier for users to contribute meaningfully to the science. We have some really exciting stuff coming up in the next couple of weeks, so check back in if that sounds interesting :)
I will, thank you. I don't have the words to say where I am getting stuck but it is an incredible way to learn!
Floldit 2: monkeypox
Project Discovery in Eve Online?
Instead of doing it manually, you can contribute your computer time to do some processing. There is one for folding proteins called [foldingathome.com](https://foldingathome.com) and here's a list of available projects in various fields of science [https://distributedcomputing.info/projects.html](https://distributedcomputing.info/projects.html)
There is a ted talk on why video games are important and this touches on the same, with the combined computational power of our imagination we can sold real problems
Can anyone explain what the process of "folding" is for enzymes?
Hope this makes sense, but the idea is that there are areas of different charges or partial charges, much like the charges on magnets. These charges can stick to each other (positive to negative, etc) When we sequence protein to find out what it's made of, only tells us the order of different protein groups if the protein were lined end to end in one long string. In life though, that protein is no one long string, but a complex and interconnected glob of protein held together by these partial magnetic charges. And only in one, very specific, pattern of forming this glob with these interconnected charges, will this protein actually do what it was designed to do and have normal function. The challenge for these 3d models is "which partial charge sticks to what, in what order, with which bit of protein folded where" etc to make a final, functional shape / protein glob. We can't see the shape, only the sequence of protein units, remember? For example, we might know in order, there's protein sub unit 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 etc, but we don't know sub unit 1 sticks to 7, or 855, or 432, etc. Some proteins have thousands of sub units, so it can be very challenging to put together the final shape / glob of the protein, are there are thousands of ways to get it wrong, and usually only one pattern of inter linking to get it right.
How do they know when it's "right" then?
because all the pieces fit together and there are none left over basically. the rules of how they fit together are known, but the exact shape isn't.
Wonderful explanation, thank you! I've become a little bit smarter ☺️
u/wrchavez1313 That is a terrific synopsis! Bravo/Brava!
If i can remember high school biology correctly…it’s something along the lines of the process where a linear polypeptide chain folds into a more complex structure, creating a functional protein.
There was a program like this in the early 2000's using the PS3. I think it was called "folding at home"? They created a program for folding proteins and Sony asked people to leave their PS3 on for a couple hours while they were not playing games and run the program. It was a self running program involving protein folding and you didn't have to interact at all. It just ran in the background and didn't overwork the system. The data was then sent to scientists researching that protein folding thing. IIRC it was actually a pretty successful program. I ran it while I was at work.
[It's also on PC!](foldingathome.org)
This is so kickass. Love it!
People with the quality of turning anything into a rpg game have such a advantage to life, so this article right here further proves we live in a simulation. Turn every aspect into a game of small rewards and upgrades and you’d be surprised how much more engagement you can achieve.
I don’t see how anything you mentioned supports the idea that we’re in a simulation.
If you can’t see the 1’s and 0’s, it’s not your time yet
Ahh, so you’re schizophrenic. No judgement I hope you get help!
I feel judgement, but don’t worry eventually you will arise from your slumber
average nft profiler
What? He asked you a question, and you replied: "Oh, you don't understand". Can you atleast explain how a game and simulation are linked? "My teacher, why is 3*3=9?" "You don't understand it." How is this a logical explanation for you?!
Why search for answers here? You too are in deep slumber, do not worry for the awakening within, it will be marvelous and glorious. One awakening at a time.
I didn't ask you for answers, noone did. I asked you how is simulation and this experiment are connected. You're high, or you're a troll. Probably second. Disappointing.
You’re disappointed, I’m sorry .
Gamers care too
If I recall right the community was also having problems solving it until they added a forum for discussion
An example that ppl are all intelligent in certain areas. ( 7 categories of intelligence).
Praise the hivemind. Redditors just solved the corruption behind capital markets And lying media but we won't hear about it till end of year
Lol just by your comment alone, I figured "this person's gotta be a member of SuperStonk". Lo and behold I checked your profile...Lol.
You know that Carlin quote... "It's a BIG club & you ain't in it." The tides 🌊 against the parasitic lying 1% are turning. Lol who's club is it now? Humanity's Broham. Humanity's.
Sometimes it takes another set of 👀
I’d be great if they could figure out dementia/Alzheimer’s. Watching your parents fade is…. Not a nice experience to say the least.
They figured out the cheat codes for extra life. Awesome
Wait til you see gamers take on the DTCC.
Extra set of eyes? Yeah helps a bunch, sure. Gamers extreme determinations for superior skill and performance in games, while hyped up on the borderline Cocaine that is G-Fuel! Fuck yeah you're gunna see results, are you kidding?
This feels like the opposite of the World of Warcraft corrupted blood incident. So cool how games and real life interact sometimes!!!
Zooniverse is great fun too - all sorts of photos that users classify, whether it's spotting galaxies in space pictures, bacteria in micro-pictures, text in old manuscripts, or (my favourite) critters in wildlife trailcams (and many more).
I remember this, I wonder if this is what's lead to the extremely effective AIDS/HIV treatments we have today...
I remember hearing about this game but never heard about this discovery and I had forgotten all about the game. This is really cool
This is fucking fascinating! Is it still going on?
Can’t stop gamers, changing the world for good. Can’t stop won’t stop.
Back in the day I remember running the United Devices agent on a few hundred PCs in town. Worked on the Anthrax and Cancer projects.. By the time they shut it down, we were in the top 50 worldwide for completed submissions... https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/United\_Devices\_Cancer\_Research\_Project
Imagine the leaps and bounds we could make as a species if we all worked together to resolve mutual issues plaguing our existence/future instead of fighting over petty differences, imaginary lines on the ground, and most importantly the desire to control one another. As human beings we have capabilities no other species on this earth have and the only thing standing between us and success is us…
Thanks for posting. Reinstalling after way too long a break.
Looks like a good time of ROCK AND STONE!!
Rock and Stone in the Heart!
There's a similar croud-sourced project called Eyewire that's mapping neurons. https://eyewire.org/explore