Gamers Beat Algorithms At Finding Protein Structures

jamie writes "Researchers have turned the biochemical challenge of figuring out protein folding structures into a computer game. The best players can beat a computerized algorithm by rapidly recognizing problems that the computer can't fix. From the article: 'By tracing the actions of the best players, the authors were able to figure out how the humans' excellent pattern recognition abilities gave them an edge over the computer. For example, people were very good about detecting a hydrophobic amino acid when it stuck out from the protein's surface, instead of being buried internally, and they were willing to rearrange the structure's internals in order to tuck the offending amino acid back inside. Those sorts of extensive rearrangements were beyond Rosetta's abilities, since the energy changes involved in the transitions are so large.'"

Comments

Re:Great idea but seems tough to gamify problems

[Dragoon235]

Astronomers have already come up with something. It's called galaxy zoo.

http://www.galaxyzoo.org/

As an added bonus, you get to look at some neat deep space photography.