Massive online collaboration tool for solving scientific problems. Fold.it

[kirk]

So I was listening to the news and heard about this. Apparently scientists have enlisted the help of online gamers to help solve issues related to disease and other things.

Online 'gamers' were able to solve a problem with HIV in 3 weeks. Scientists had been working on for 13 years! http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/foldit-gamers-solve-riddle/

It's called fold it, and it is an online collaboration model that allows participants to test different protein structures and what not. I have to admit, it's a bit above my head, but I was hoping for some feedback from you guys on if this could be a viable option on seeking out a cure.

The about page on the website mentions more about this technology. http://fold.it/portal/info/about

I personally think it can help, but defining the project problems and methods will be the difficult part.

 

[Python]

So I was listening to the news and heard about this. Apparently scientists have enlisted the help of online gamers to help solve issues related to disease and other things.

Online 'gamers' were able to solve a problem with HIV in 3 weeks. Scientists had been working on for 13 years! http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/foldit-gamers-solve-riddle/

It's called fold it, and it is an online collaboration model that allows participants to test different protein structures and what not. I have to admit, it's a bit above my head, but I was hoping for some feedback from you guys on if this could be a viable option on seeking out a cure.

The about page on the website mentions more about this technology. http://fold.it/portal/info/about

I personally think it can help, but defining the project problems and methods will be the difficult part.

Fold it is meant for folding proteins, it is a process that has to be done in three dimensions and computers are terrible at it. Humans are naturally good at solving these type of puzzles. This has been shown lots of times and also at folding RNA if I remember correctly. Then it is used to make better pills, this is my understanding.

With that said, this has nothing to do with hairloss and will likely never will. It's always give cancer the front row seat for all the studies.

The reality is that the enormous amount of money, time and effort that had been put into cancer, could have been out elsewhere. Just imagine how many other deseases including hairloss could have been cured with over 80 years of intensely expensive sereach, soooo many. But once again, the cancer organizations go out to lobby like madmen.

 

[Muzzle]

The reality is that the enormous amount of money, time and effort that had been put into cancer, could have been out elsewhere. Just imagine how many other deseases including hairloss could have been cured with over 80 years of intensely expensive sereach, soooo many. But once again, the cancer organizations go out to lobby like madmen.

Money put into cancer is nothing compared to money put into military expenditures.

F-35 program cost is 1.5 trillion $, another useless piece of **** which people will rarely use in the future.

How much money do people spend on hair loss research ? You can't expect to find a cure for baldness by only spending 70-80 million $. Even Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer's fee is 94 millon € (120-125 millon $)

I think you should blame capitalism, and ****ing countries and their ****ing wars

 

[kirk]

Yeah, I signed up and have been working my way through a couple of beginner puzzles. I'm not really sure how to submit proposals for puzzles or even if it's possible. A few ideas that I've had are:

1) Analyze the potassium channel openers that are effected by minoxidil
2) Look at pdg2
3) Make the perfect pge2 structure for use in medication, topical or otherwise

 

[Python]

Yeah, I signed up and have been working my way through a couple of beginner puzzles. I'm not really sure how to submit proposals for puzzles or even if it's possible. A few ideas that I've had are:

1) Analyze the potassium channel openers that are effected by minoxidil
2) Look at pdg2
3) Make the perfect pge2 structure for use in medication, topical or otherwise

You didn't read the instruction manual or information, they upload automatically upon success. There is bigger projects but for that you need to be a really high ranking player. To be able to fold RNA and what is actually kind of cool is companies might actually hire these players.

 

[kirk]

Not very much different than anything else I guess. Someone at the top still needs to decide hair loss a significant cause before any progress is made.

In my mind, I am convinced that with enough manpower we'd have it licked!