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UNDERX said:
OK so I have to write a research paper for my English class and I chose AIDS lol I just figure it there is a lot of research on it, And I am just not in the mood to dig... Also I am fascinated by this virus... Anyways here something I came across that I thought I would share!

U.S. Gamers Crack Puzzle in AIDS Research that Stumped Scientists for Years


In just three weeks, online gamers deciphered the structure of a retrovirus protein that has stumped scientists for over a decade, and a study out Sunday says their breakthrough opens doors for a new AIDS drug design.

The protein, called a protease, plays a critical role in how some viruses, including HIV, multiply. Intensive research has been underway to find AIDS drugs that can deactivate proteases, but scientists were hampered by their inability to crack the enzyme's structure.

Looking for a solution, researchers at the University of Washington turned to Foldit, a program created by the university a few years ago that transforms problems of science into competitive computer games, and challenged players to use their three-dimensional problem-solving skills to build accurate models of the protein.

With days, the gamers generated models good enough for the researchers to refine into an accurate portrayal of the enzyme's structure. What's more, the scientists identified parts of the molecule that are likely targets for drugs to block the enzyme.

"These features provide opportunities for the design of antiretroviral drugs, including anti-HIV drugs," the authors wrote.

Proteins are made up of long chains of amino acids that fold into complex shapes, but their structures are difficult even for computers to predict.

"We wanted to see if human intuition could succeed where automated methods had failed," said Firas Khatib, a lead author of the study, published in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

The researchers were hopeful that their finding would open further possibilities of crowd-sourcing and online game-playing in scientific discovery.

"The ingenuity of game players is a formidable force that, if properly directed, can be used to solve a wide range of scientific problems," Khatib said.

Seth Cooper, a co-creator of Foldit, added, "People have spatial reasoning skills, something computers are not yet good at. Games provide a framework for bringing together the strengths of computers and humans. The results in this week's paper show that gaming, science and computation can be combined to make advances that were not possible before."


So next time someone tells you playing video games is useless... ​
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My videogame design teacher told me this a couple of days ago. And my mom said videogames didn't teach you anything tsk tsk...
 
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Another fine example of natural selection at work. :)
 
I mght as well say this even though you guys may not care , but anyways DragonBall Z Ultimate Tenkaichi as Character Creation. I might have been late telling you guys this but you never see this out of DBZ.
 
Isaiah said:
I mght as well say this even though you guys may not care , but anyways DragonBall Z Ultimate Tenkaichi as Character Creation. I might have been late telling you guys this but you never see this out of DBZ.
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Yeah I saw that in some tokyo games show wrap up vid. The only problem is my character wouldn't be canon. I mean sure he might stretch what would be an amazing ten minute fight into 3 hours with trash talking but what's the point if nobody owns gashapon or wall scrolls of him?
 
*In videogame design surfing 8wayrun*

Friend: I think you're taking this SC thing way too seriously, everyday you're looking up new moves and strategies... you're addicted.

Me: Well, when you're a scrub like me, you'll do just about anything to rise to the top.

IM AN ADDICT!!!
 
Eat cock and die in shit ! Damn Arcana Heart 3 end boss if I wanna play target practice Ill play SSB, if I want thing shooting me from all directions Ill play Mars Matrix. Yeah I know it not that hard but still its annoying
 
After going to meet up with the gaming club and beating the living shit out of them in MVC3 I peaked their interest in tournaments. They said they would be interested in hosting tournaments, but I need to meet up with them more before anything happens. I also spoke to the president of the club and apparently he makes controls and I think he can also mod them, so I'm thinking that things may be looking up.
 
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