Foldit Reaches 1000 Puzzles, Debuts New Ebola Puzzle

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Click me to see more Foldit puzzles! Click me to see more Foldit puzzles!

Explanation_puzzle_1000_bFoldit has reached 1000 puzzles today, thanks to the hard work of our scientists and community. Our scientists have posted a few past puzzles in which we have asked players to design peptides and small proteins that are able to bind to a binding site on the Ebola binding protein.

Read up on Foldit’s continuing commitment to Ebola in this excellent summary post by scientist Vikram Mulligan discussing the current status of research, as well as a spotlight on previous puzzles tackled by the hard-working Foldit community.

Get familiar with Foldit’s 1000th puzzle titled, “Breach Ebola’s Defences!” and join the research efforts today!


Nanocrafter: 2014 Serious Games Showcase & Challenge Finalist!

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SGS_Finalist_logo_2014.fwWhat great news to kick off the week with! We have been alerted that Nanocrafter has been selected as a finalist in the 2014 Serious Games Showcase & Challenge (SGS&C). Qualifying as a finalist allows Nanocrafter to be placed at pavilion booth #2663 at the upcoming December Interservice/Industry Training Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando, Florida.

At the conference, Nanocrafter is now eligible to win the distinction as “2014 Best Serious Game” in the Business category as judged by the SGS&C evaluators, the “2014 Students’ Choice Award” which is determined by middle and high school students, the “2014 Best Game Special Emphasis Topic Social Media Crowdsourcing for Peer Learning Award” which is determined by a special panel, and the coveted “2014 People’s Choice Award” which is determined by conference attendees (so if you happen to be going, be sure to vote for Nanocrafter).

Congratulations, Nanocrafter!


Fall Update from CGS

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cgs“For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad. ” – Edwin Way Teale

For the Center for Game Science, autumn is a time of kicking off a great new season of website updates, announcements (including the triumphant return of the Washington State Algebra Challenge later this year), and enjoying the return of life to the University of Washington Campus. Welcome students and staff, returning and new!

We’ve made two significant overhauls so far you might enjoy, with a third underway to the website. This isn’t the last of our changes, but were noteworthy enough to mention while we’re working on the rest. (We also appreciate your patience and humor as we move things around a bit in the near future!) First, we have illuminated some of our related projects on our Projects page. If you want to know about arranging a field trip, or how we are related to the Algebra Challenges, this should be your first stop.

Next, to assist your reference needs, we’ve expanded our research section and gotten it up to date. Look for these research papers to also make an appearance on the various game pages as we continue to sort and classify them, and our media section to be more robust as we capture all the great places the Center and our projects have been mentioned.

Looking for the Center for Game Science in person? You’re in luck, as we will be attending a couple of events this fall. Mark your calendars for the following events.

  • Pacific Science Center Life Sciences Research Center on November 7-9, 2014. Foldit scientists will be on hand to provide hands-on science and face-to-face time!
  • Computing Open House, 1pm – 5pm on Saturday, December 6th, 2014. This fun event for middle/high school students and families will let you chat one on one with a couple of our developers and get some hands on time at our display!

Foldit Helps Statewide Efforts in Ebola Research

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CGSWebSiteFolditCircleFoldit’s role in Ebola is clearly becoming more important than ever. The Seattle Times took a look yesterday evening at the statewide efforts being made to combat Ebola. Taking a look at nonprofit organizations, grants, and nurses mobilizing towards this epidemic, Foldit and the Baker Laboratory are called out for their contributions and efforts towards finding cures. “Especially for Ebola we put everything out there [through Foldit] because we want things to move quickly,” explains [Baker Lab scientist] La, who hopes these efforts will result in a cheap, easily replicable treatment for Ebola “sooner rather than later.”

Follow the puzzle progress or lend a hand towards the effort here.