Foldit Puzzles

2578: Revisiting Puzzle 96: Collagen

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This small domain is a component of the collagen that forms the connective tissue beneath your skin! 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.

2577: KCNT1 Round 12

KCNT1 is a sodium-activated potassium channel that critically influences how neurons fire. When functioning normally, KCNT1 helps maintain a healthy balance of electrical signaling in the brain. However, mutations in the KCNT1 gene can lead to a range of severe epileptic conditions such as Malignant Migrating Partial Seizures of Infancy (MMPSI).

2576: Revisiting Puzzle 95: Chicken

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. Signals from the nervous system induce Ca2+ release within muscle cells. This muscle protein, which normally inhibits muscle contraction, changes shape in the presence of Ca2+ to allow muscle contraction. 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.

2574: KCNT1 Round 11

KCNT1 is a sodium-activated potassium channel that critically influences how neurons fire. When functioning normally, KCNT1 helps maintain a healthy balance of electrical signaling in the brain. However, mutations in the KCNT1 gene can lead to a range of severe epileptic conditions such as Malignant Migrating Partial Seizures of Infancy (MMPSI).

2572: Electron Density Reconstruction 108

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 quite large, so we would recommend the trim tool on this one. This one also has a big piece of DNA in it!

2573: Revisiting Puzzle 94: Mouse

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This protein recruits components of the immune system, and normally keeps white blood cells concentrated in the lymph nodes. However, it also plays a part in the inflammatory response, when immune cells are required to fight an infection. This protein contains four cysteines that oxidize to form two 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 easier puzzles that are still scientifically relevant.

2571: KCNT1 Round 10

KCNT1 is a sodium-activated potassium channel that critically influences how neurons fire. When functioning normally, KCNT1 helps maintain a healthy balance of electrical signaling in the brain. However, mutations in the KCNT1 gene can lead to a range of severe epileptic conditions such as Malignant Migrating Partial Seizures of Infancy (MMPSI).

2570: Electron Density Reconstruction 107

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.

2569: Revisiting Puzzle 93: Spider Toxin

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This small toxin is produced from the funnel-web spider A. aperta, and induces paralysis in insects by blocking calcium channels. This protein contains eight cysteines that oxidize to form four 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 easier puzzles that are still scientifically relevant.

2568: KCNT1 Round 9

KCNT1 is a sodium-activated potassium channel that critically influences how neurons fire. When functioning normally, KCNT1 helps maintain a healthy balance of electrical signaling in the brain. However, mutations in the KCNT1 gene can lead to a range of severe epileptic conditions such as Malignant Migrating Partial Seizures of Infancy (MMPSI).