Foldit Puzzles

2587: Electron Density Reconstruction 111

This is the a second round of Reconstruction Puzzle 106. In that puzzle, we didn't provide any background information. The results of that puzzle were a definite improvement over the original structure, but there are some specific errors that we'd like to see if you can also improve too. Specifically, have a look at segment ranges 142-151, 182-196, 260-274, and 389-397 using the original PDB numbering. We think in those regions there might be what's called register shifts. Register shifts can happen in relatively low resolution structures, where the entire backbone gets shifted. We'd like to see what Foldit players can do to identify and perhaps correct them. Previous solutions should be loadable into this puzzle.

2586: Revisiting Puzzle 110: Turkey

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This is a portion of a troponin protein found in the skeletal muscle of turkeys. We are revisiting old Foldit puzzles so we can see how useful the recent additions to the game have been and to provide newer players with puzzles that are still scientifically relevant.

2585: HIKESHI Round 3

HIKESHI Associated Leukodystrophy (HAL), also known as Hypomyelinating Leukodystrophy-13 (HLD13), is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that affects young children. Caused by specific mutations in the Hikeshi protein, HAL leads to severe neurological problems such as developmental delays, muscle stiffness (spasticity), and a smaller-than-normal head size (microcephaly). Tragically, children with HAL often experience a rapid decline or even death after a fever.

2584: Electron Density Reconstruction 110

The structure of this protein has already been solved and published, but close inspection suggests that there are some problems with the published solution. We'd like to see if Foldit players can use the same electron density data to reconstruct a better model. It's a bit large, so we would recommend the trim tool on this one, and you'll notice in the sequence several parts where segments aren't visible.

2583: Revisiting Puzzle 109: Pumpkin

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This is a trypsin inhibitor in pumpkins. We are revisiting old Foldit puzzles so we can see how useful the recent additions to the game have been and to provide newer players with puzzles that are still scientifically relevant. Players will NOT be able to load in any previous solutions for these puzzles.

2582: HIKESHI Round 2

HIKESHI Associated Leukodystrophy (HAL), also known as Hypomyelinating Leukodystrophy-13 (HLD13), is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that affects young children. Caused by specific mutations in the Hikeshi protein, HAL leads to severe neurological problems such as developmental delays, muscle stiffness (spasticity), and a smaller-than-normal head size (microcephaly). Tragically, children with HAL often experience a rapid decline or even death after a fever.

2581: Electron Density Reconstruction 109

The structure of this protein has already been solved and published, but close inspection suggests that there are some problems with the published solution. We'd like to see if Foldit players can use the same electron density data to reconstruct a better model. It's a bit large, so we would recommend the trim tool on this one.

2580: Revisiting Puzzle 97: Pig

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This saposin protein from pig serves as an activator for lipid-desolving enzymes. This protein contains six cysteines that oxidize to form three disulfide bonds. We are revisiting old Foldit puzzles so we can see how useful the recent additions to the game have been and to provide newer players with puzzles that are still scientifically relevant.

2579: HIKESHI Round 1

HIKESHI Associated Leukodystrophy (HAL), also known as Hypomyelinating Leukodystrophy-13 (HLD13), is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that affects young children. Caused by specific mutations in the Hikeshi protein, HAL leads to severe neurological problems such as developmental delays, muscle stiffness (spasticity), and a smaller-than-normal head size (microcephaly). Tragically, children with HAL often experience a rapid decline or even death after a fever.

2575: Unsolved Voltage-gated Ion Channel Cryo-EM Density Round 2

Here's round 2 for this exciting puzzle. While our collaborators have been able to fit a cryoEM map well enough to build an atomic model of this channel (chain A in this puzzle) they have been unable to fit the toxin variant (chain B). Try to fit both chains into this cryo-EM map, but especially residues 119-148 (chain B, where constraints have been added between 127&139, 120&134, and 133&143). See the previous blogpost for all the juicy scientific details!