Chad Clark's Open Journal : 2009-09-02

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September 02, 2009 :
1) Fold-It : A protein folding puzzle game.

In April I heard about a game that involved folding proteins.  I finally
installed the game last week.  It compares with Tetris as far as being
addictive counts.

It sounds geeky and complicated but it really is entertaining.  I encourage
you to try it out.  There are free downloads for Linux, OSX, and Windows.
The web site address is http://fold.it/.

The Fold-It game lets humans move parts of the proteins around.  Players
also get tools like putting rubber bands around parts of the structure to
pull in a direction, changing side chains to prevent a large chain from
colliding with another part of the structure, twisting the backbone and
side chains to move hydrophobic side chains away from the outside, and
more.

After playing with it for a bit I liked how it showed the structure in 3-D
rendering.  It is one thing to read and understand that beta-sheets like to
line up because of hydrogen boding.  I think seeing what it looks like and
trying to make them line up together enhances the understanding or at least
appreciation or wonderment.

Computer algorithms that try every possible combination of potential 3-D
structure take a very, very long time to run.  Because of this they may not
be very useful.  Human players may be able to see patterns that can later
be used by automated programs to fold proteins.

To see my profile and scores go to http://fold.it/portal/user/116673.
Finally here is a screen-shot.






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