Dr Conant’s Comments:
“We should expect to see more and more of this collaboration between science and the general public in the years to come. We know that using thousands of computers increases our electronic capability of problem-solving; we forget that it simultaneously increases our human brain power by employing thousands of our fellow humans with unique experiences and insights. The same efforts are being used to map the galaxies and to look for intelligent life outside of our solar system. Gov. Rick Perry may not think much of science. But science is doing some pretty incredible things.”
Online Gamers Crack AIDS Enzyme Puzzle
By Agence France-Presse
Sunday, September 18th, 2011 — 2:41 pm
PARIS — Online gamers have achieved a feat beyond the realm of Second Life or Dungeons and Dragons: they have deciphered the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that had thwarted scientists for a decade.
The exploit is published on Sunday in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, where — exceptionally in scientific publishing — both gamers and researchers are honoured as co-authors.
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.
MORE…
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/09/18/online-gamers-crack-aids-enzyme-puzzle
