{"id":7550,"date":"2011-09-21T17:41:51","date_gmt":"2011-09-21T21:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=7550"},"modified":"2011-09-21T17:44:17","modified_gmt":"2011-09-21T21:44:17","slug":"video-gamers-solve-molecular-biology-puzzle-that-stumped-scientists-for-10-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/09\/video-gamers-solve-molecular-biology-puzzle-that-stumped-scientists-for-10-years","title":{"rendered":"Video gamers solve molecular biology puzzle that stumped scientists for 10 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Computer games aren’t just time-wasting geek pastimes, according to the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. <\/em>Online gamers have deciphered the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that had\u00a0had baffled\u00a0researchers for a decade.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0accomplishment was published in the journal where both gamers and researchers were honored as co-authors. According to the published findings:<\/p>\n

Their target was a monomeric protease enzyme, a cutting agent in the complex molecular tailoring of retroviruses, a family that includes HIV. Figuring out the structure of proteins is vital for understanding the causes of many diseases and developing drugs to block them.<\/p>\n

But a microscope gives only a flat image of what to the outsider looks like a plate of one-dimensional scrunched-up spaghetti. Pharmacologists, though, need a 3-D picture that “unfolds” the molecule and rotates it in order to reveal potential targets for drugs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Developed by the University of Washington,\u00a0the fun-for-purpose video game engaged gamers, divided into competing groups, to compete to unfold chains of amino acids — the building blocks of proteins — using a set of online tools.\u00a0The idea of using gamers to solve problems has been\u00a0explored in the past. In the now-cancelled TV science-fiction series Stargate Universe,<\/em> a main character, Eli Wallace, is drafted onto a team of star-traveling adventurers after solving a puzzle on such an on-line game.<\/p>\n

The journal reports:<\/p>\n

To the astonishment of the scientists, the gamers produced an accurate model of the enzyme in just three weeks.<\/p>\n

Cracking the enzyme “provides new insights for the design of antiretroviral drugs,” says the study, referring to the lifeline medication against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).<\/p>\n

It is believed to be the first time that gamers have resolved a long-standing scientific problem.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

CLICK HERE to read more<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Computer games aren’t just time-wasting geek pastimes, according to the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. Online gamers have deciphered the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that had\u00a0had baffled\u00a0researchers for a decade. The\u00a0accomplishment was published in the journal where both gamers and researchers were honored as co-authors. According to the published findings:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[184,8],"tags":[1610,2201],"class_list":["post-7550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","category-news","tag-computer-games","tag-news"],"yoast_head":"\nVideo gamers solve molecular biology puzzle that stumped scientists for 10 years<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/09\/video-gamers-solve-molecular-biology-puzzle-that-stumped-scientists-for-10-years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Video gamers solve molecular biology puzzle that stumped scientists for 10 years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Computer games aren’t just time-wasting geek pastimes, according to the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 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