You may know that biochemist David Baker shares the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry with two researchers from Google’s DeepMind. But a video game helped get them there, and you can still play — and contribute to science — even today.
Baker and the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design led the team to create fold.it, an online puzzle game in which players actually design synthetic proteins. Originally, the game was coded to allow players to help determine the structure of existing proteins, beginning in 2008. In 2019, the project expanded to allow gamers to actually design new proteins that had never before existed.
The game essentially puts the tools in place for gamers to come up with novel proteins, and when “solved,” allows scientists to check them.
“The scientists tested 146 proteins designed by Foldit players in the laboratory. 56 were found to be stable,” the university said then. “This finding suggested the gamers had produced some realistic proteins. The researchers collected enough data on four of these new molecules to show that the designs adopted their intended structures.”
The game (and the work) continue today. Users can take “chains” of amino acids and fold them up into their proper shape. This shape allows the protein to carry out its assigned function. Examples of proteins include insulin and hemoglobin. Foldit has expanded to take on small molecules that aren’t protein, such as aspirin.
“If a protein researcher is struggling with a particular problem, they will create a Foldit puzzle for their problem,” the Foldit page says. “By playing Foldit puzzles, you help to solve protein research problems.“
At press time, current problems included platypus venom and KCNQ1 VSD, which helps regulate the heart’s rhythm. Give foldit a shot today!