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Online Gamers Help Solve Protein Structure

Scientists can now include online gaming in their problem-solving arsenal. Because game players seem to have provided an answer to a scientific question that’s vexed researchers for a decade.
科學(xué)家們的研究方法已經(jīng)不再死板，打網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲也能解決問題。研究員被困100年的問題，現(xiàn)在可以通過玩家們玩游戲來揭開這個(gè)科學(xué)謎底。

Scientists wanted to know the structure of a protein-cutting enzyme produced by a retrovirus similar to HIV. They haven’t been able to solve the protein structure using standard computational methods.
科學(xué)家們很想掌握由反向病毒所衍生的蛋白剪切酶的結(jié)構(gòu)，而反向病毒是指，比如HIV這樣的病毒。這類蛋白結(jié)構(gòu)是不能通過標(biāo)準(zhǔn)算法法則推導(dǎo)就直接得出的。

Now, the game—researchers developed Foldit in 2008. Teams of players fold molecules and rotate amino acids to create 3-D protein structures. Gamers get points for structure stability.
現(xiàn)在，我們說明這檔2008年推出的游戲——佛德特（Foldit，學(xué)名：實(shí)驗(yàn)性的蛋白質(zhì)折疊電子游戲），玩家可以各自分小組進(jìn)行，所有玩家在游戲中折疊分子和旋轉(zhuǎn)氨基酸，創(chuàng)造出三維的蛋白結(jié)構(gòu)，游戲得分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)基于蛋白質(zhì)的穩(wěn)定程度。

So researchers asked gamers to try to solve this particular protein. Within three weeks, the gamers found a good solution. The scientists then refined it and were able to completely determine the protein’s structure. Having the structure could inform the use of drugs to block the enzyme, and provide another tool against retroviruses, including HIV.
那么，研究員們只要設(shè)定好游戲，玩家們就想方設(shè)法折疊出規(guī)定蛋白的結(jié)構(gòu)，3周后，玩家成功闖關(guān)。最后，只要科學(xué)家們再精煉總結(jié)一下，就能得到蛋白的結(jié)構(gòu)。明白了這些蛋白結(jié)構(gòu)，就可以制造出應(yīng)對酶的產(chǎn)物，也可以提供遏止病毒蛋白質(zhì)的工具，比如HIV病毒。

The researchers say that people have better spatial reasoning skills than computers—and that using both humans and machines might be a way to overcome various structural challenges. The results appear in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. [Firas Khatib et al, Crystal structure of a monomeric retroviral protease solved by protein folding game players] Co-authored by researchers—and a number of gamers.
研究者們認(rèn)為，人類的空間推理能力要比電腦強(qiáng)大的多，所以結(jié)合電腦和人類的大腦才是解決各種各樣問題的最佳方法。這一結(jié)果已經(jīng)在《自然結(jié)構(gòu)》雜志和《生物分子》刊登出來（Firas Khatib，等人；“美麗的反向病毒蛋白酶單鏈結(jié)構(gòu)”），當(dāng)然，作者一欄寫的是研究員和大眾玩家合著。

—Cynthia Graber

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