Foldit Puzzles

1924: Designable Linker: Coronavirus Spike Binder

This is the fifth puzzle in the designable linker series! We are providing parts of two of the best-known designed binders to the SARS-CoV-2 spike, and are challenging players to link them together with a rigid linker! The two helical bundles are the parts of the two binders. They are currently connected with a flexible alanine linker that needs to be redesigned. Note that this puzzle has as different starting structure than previous puzzles and is about linking a different pair of the same binders.

1923: MERS-CoV Binder Design: Round 6

Design a binder for the viral spike of MERS-CoV! This puzzle does not use the new Contact Surface Objective and is more similar to the previous Round 4 puzzle, except that the Metrics bonuses have been scaled down significantly. In this puzzle, the Metrics have a ramped bonus; as you improve DDG, SASA, and SC, you will get an increasing bonus until you reach the threshold of DDG < -40, SASA > 1500, and SC > 0.6, and then the bonus will be capped. Remember that Metrics are slow to compute and run in the background, so gameplay may be different from regular puzzles. See the blog for more info about Foldit Metrics.

1922: Revisiting Puzzle 144: Rosetta Decoy 8

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. The function of this thermophilic protein is unknown, but it is unusual among intracellular proteins in that the native structure includes disulfide bonds. This protein contains six cysteine residues that are oxidized 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.

1921: Designable Linker: Coronavirus Spike Binder

This is the fourth puzzle in the designable linker series! We are providing parts of two of the best-known designed binders to the SARS-CoV-2 spike, and are challenging players to link them together with a rigid linker! The two helical bundles are the parts of the two binders. They are currently connected with a flexible alanine linker that needs to be redesigned. We have also included the parts of the actual spike that are within 15 angstroms of the termini of the binders, so you know what regions your binder has to avoid to prevent clashing. The big thing for puzzles like these is to have buried hydrophobics at the interface between the linker and the binder helices. Packing the linker against the helices can help it maintain its shape.

Design of the Month: November 2020

This sandbox puzzle features a symmetric trimer design by CharlieFortsConscience, from Puzzle 1900. It is difficult to form a well-shaped trimer interface with sheets, but this design has very few voids at the interface!. For more, check out Foldit Lab Report #14 on YouTube! This sandbox puzzle is non-competitive and will not award any points.

1920: MERS-CoV Binder Design: Round 5

Note: Due to strange behavior and frequent hangs, this puzzle has been reduced to zero points. Players should not feel compelled to play it for competitive reasons. However, the results of this puzzle have exceptional scientific value, so the puzzle will remain active for those who wish to keep working. Once we find and fix the bugs, we intend to repost the puzzle so that players may load previous work and continue competitive play.

1919: Revisiting Puzzle 143: Rosetta Decoy 7

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This enzyme helps to regenerate a cofactor that is necessary for nucleic acid synthesis; the starting structure is a model produced by Rosetta. This protein contains only one cysteine, so no disulfide bonds are expected. We are revisiting old Foldit puzzles so we can see how useful the recent additions to the game have been.

1918: Designable Linker: Coronavirus Spike Binder

Note: This puzzle was closed early due to some scoring problems, and has been reposted as Puzzle 1918b. Players may not load solutions into the reposted puzzle.

1918b: Designable Linker: Coronavirus Spike Binder

Note: This puzzle replaces Puzzle 1918, which had some scoring problems. Unfortunately, players may not load solutions from the original Puzzle 1918.

1917: Revisiting Puzzle 142: Rosetta Decoy 6

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This protein was evolved in vitro to bind testosterone; the starting structure is a model produced by Rosetta. This protein contains two cysteine residues, which oxidize to form a single disulfide bond. 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 problems that are still scientifically relevant.