Earlier today we released a special puzzle challenge for the Foldit community based on a structure of a protein solved by crystallographers in the Bardwell Lab at the University of Michigan.
Recently, our scientists learned the Bardwell scientists decided to challenge a class of undergraduate biochemistry students to build a model into this unrefined density map before publishing the results. Knowing our community would also enjoy a challenge, the lab also invited Foldit players to participate!
The Foldit community has four weeks to develop a protein model that fits this density. Can Foldit players outperform the University of Michigan students—or even the crystallographers themselves?