BootsMcGraw
05-03-2009, 11:14 PM
Is it possible to spend one's free time playing games, yet accomplish something positive?
Not all online video games are the testosterone-charged, violence-ridden shoot'em-ups like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XI. The people of the University of Washington, departments of Computer Science & Engineering and Biochemistry, have collaborated to produce Foldit, an online, multi-player puzzle game whose object is to arrange or "fold" the various parts of protein molecules into their optimum configurations.
Doesn't sound exciting? Imagine Tetris on steroids. You won't have to make lightning-quick decisions; but even the smallest move you do make will have its consequences. Put one piece of the protein in the wrong place and watch your score plummet. Orient it correctly, and your score climbs. Foldit challenges your wits, your pattern recognition abilities, and sometimes, your patience.
You don't need to know molecular biology. You don't need to be a scientist. Heck, two of the better players are a sixty-two-year-old grandmother of three who has a high-school education and a thirteen-year-old boy who's still a student in junior high.
I have played the game since December; and I have worked my way up to rank as one of the best protein folders on the planet. I am part of a team of folders who share solutions amongst ourselves, taking the best of what we've worked and making it better. We hope that the results of our playtime can be used by the researchers at University of Washington to help them develop new proteins that can be used to cure cancer, disable HIV, and treat a host of other diseases.
If the idea of playing games for science interests you, check out the Foldit web site and download the game. (It is free.)
http://fold.it/portal/info/science
If you do choose to play the game, remember that you are playing live, and that the players are of all ages, genders, orientations, and backgrounds. It would be best not to bring up things like feet and tickling, there.
Send me an e-mail if you have questions. Hope to see you there. My team can always use the help.
Not all online video games are the testosterone-charged, violence-ridden shoot'em-ups like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XI. The people of the University of Washington, departments of Computer Science & Engineering and Biochemistry, have collaborated to produce Foldit, an online, multi-player puzzle game whose object is to arrange or "fold" the various parts of protein molecules into their optimum configurations.
Doesn't sound exciting? Imagine Tetris on steroids. You won't have to make lightning-quick decisions; but even the smallest move you do make will have its consequences. Put one piece of the protein in the wrong place and watch your score plummet. Orient it correctly, and your score climbs. Foldit challenges your wits, your pattern recognition abilities, and sometimes, your patience.
You don't need to know molecular biology. You don't need to be a scientist. Heck, two of the better players are a sixty-two-year-old grandmother of three who has a high-school education and a thirteen-year-old boy who's still a student in junior high.
I have played the game since December; and I have worked my way up to rank as one of the best protein folders on the planet. I am part of a team of folders who share solutions amongst ourselves, taking the best of what we've worked and making it better. We hope that the results of our playtime can be used by the researchers at University of Washington to help them develop new proteins that can be used to cure cancer, disable HIV, and treat a host of other diseases.
If the idea of playing games for science interests you, check out the Foldit web site and download the game. (It is free.)
http://fold.it/portal/info/science
If you do choose to play the game, remember that you are playing live, and that the players are of all ages, genders, orientations, and backgrounds. It would be best not to bring up things like feet and tickling, there.
Send me an e-mail if you have questions. Hope to see you there. My team can always use the help.