A 15-year-old AIDS problem was recently solved in just three weeks using a new online game site that allows users to contribute in decoding complex proteins. Fold.it users incredibly modeled the enzyme, Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV) retroviral protease, in a manner that matched crystalline structures observed by scientists.
Fold.it was conceived and designed by University of Washington researchers Seth Cooper, Adrien Treuille(now at CMU), Janos Barbero, Zoran Popović, David Baker, and David Salesin.