Harnessing Video Game Power for Good - A New Way to Fold Proteins
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Finally, researchers at the University of Washington have created a very interesting project that might actually lead to a Nobel prize for a gamer. It's a site on which protein folding has turned into a competitive sport. There are projects that take free CPU cycles and put them to the task of folding proteins; this project enlists people to do the same thing – only the “free CPU cycles” are free brain time in this case. The site is called Foldit, as is the game. You will need to download software to use it; there are versions for Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
Here's the login screen after you download the software:
As you can see, you can play offline. I didn't choose to do that; if you do, you lose the ability to post scores and chat with others on the site at the same time you are. That can be really helpful when you're looking for tips to get past a tough protein.
The game starts you out with tutorials where you learn the basics of using your tools. Your goal is to get proteins folded correctly without parts conflicting with each other. You start with something simple, where you just have to move a couple of connections, like this:
Then you move on to something a lot more complicated, where you're moving and juggling several chains at once, like this:
The gray areas you see on this screen are guidelines. This is still part of the tutorial; you quickly reach the point where you no longer have guidelines. But you get to use some great tools; you can pivot the protein all sorts of directions to see it from every angle, pull it in different directions to get it to the right shape, use “rubber bands” and the “wiggle” command to apply an even pressure to get it to move in particular directions...it's very challenging, but after a while it does begin to feel like a video game. Eventually, of course, good players will find themselves working on proteins for which we're not sure of their actual shape.
Some might find the game a little too challenging, or even frustrating. Others might find it downright addicting. As with many video games, there are little tricks you can use, certain maneuvers that get you closer to the shape you want. The group that put this game together hit very close to a gaming “sweet spot.” Playing Foldit requires both eye-hand coordination and a certain amount of puzzle-solving ability. Those aren't the only things you need for a good game, but it's a start. Who knows? Maybe future science-based video games will further the goals of computer science and medical researchers, and harnessing the power of video gamers everywhere will solve problems and find cures for deadly diseases. Imagine boasting of being a video gamer and helping to save lives! Wouldn't that be cool?
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