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LCB1 Coronavirus Spike Binder (corrected)

Closed since over 5 years ago

Novice

Summary

Created
August 31, 2020
Expires
Max points
100
Description

Note: This replaces the original LCB1 puzzle, which had some incorrect settings for Core Exists, Ideal Loops, and SS Design Objectives.



This is a non-competitive "sandbox" puzzle where you can explore a protein designed by IPD scientists. The starting structure is LCB1, a designed protein that binds to the coronavirus spike protein to block viral infection. This design was just one of millions of proteins designed by researchers. It was chosen for testing because it has excellent binder metrics. Lab tests have shown that this binder can potently inhibit viral infection in a test tube, but further tests are needed to determine safety and efficacy in animals.



Read more about this protein on the Foldit blog.

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Comments

Bletchley Park Lv 1

I am surprised that there is so much headroom (points-wise) for this structure if the given structure binds so well with the target ?

bkoep Staff Lv 1

Yes, sorry! Originally we wanted to allow players to load solutions from Puzzle 1880, but there were some problems.

bkoep Staff Lv 1

Yes, IPD scientists tend to spend much less time refining their designs.

This is an ongoing concern in Foldit. Lots of Foldit players seem to do a lot of late-game refinement of their solutions, because it improves their competitive advantage. But it is not clear that all this refinement actually improves the scientific value of the model.

ichwilldiesennamen Lv 1

This design has an ugly bunch of BUNs all over the structure. What is the point of us in taking care of getting rid of BUNs if this design is so great? Aren't BUNs that important?

bkoep Staff Lv 1

The BUNS Objective in Foldit uses some approximations to speed up calculations, so it will sometimes produce false positives.