Videogame helps scientists solve decade-old problem

The next time someone tries telling you that videogames are a waste of time be sure to bring up Foldit, a game that gives players the chance to play with proteins by trying to fold them, and how it was used to solve a problem scientists have been working on for over a decade. Oh and the problem dealt with understanding an enzyme that will help lead to a cure for diseases like AIDS.

Despite the fact that putting the enzyme on Foldit was a last resort (scientists even tried using a special protein-folding program to solve this) it took members of the Foldit Contenders Group less than ten days to find a solution to this puzzle. This may be one of the coolest things I have ever read, and just goes to prove that videogames are good for more than just goofing around for a few hours. Of course, we already knew that, didn’t we?

Gamers solve molecular puzzle that baffled scientists [Cosmic Log]