Foldit Puzzles

1847: Foldit Player Design with Electron Density

This puzzle features a protein designed by fiendish_ghoul in Puzzle 1321! We recently solved the crystal structure of this protein, and here we are providing players with the refined electron density map at a resolution of 1.83 A. The crystal's electron density shows that this protein folds up exactly as fiendish_ghoul designed it, with RMSD of 1.1 A among C-alpha atoms! We want to give Foldit players a chance to see this electron density data and fold up the protein to fit the map.

1846: Coronavirus Anti-inflammatory Design: Round 5

Design an anti-inflammatory protein for COVID-19! In this puzzle the Buried Unsats Objective will not award any bonus or penalty points, but you can still use it to detect "unsatisfied" polar atoms that cannot make hydrogen bonds with the water surrounding the protein. If your designed protein creates Buried Unsats, then it will be less likely to fold and bind to the target. (Note that this target protein includes 15 buried unsats that players may be unable to fix.) See the blog for more details about buried unsats, and for helpful tips to make a successful protein binder! Players will be unable to load solutions from previous puzzles.

1845: Revisiting Puzzle 125: Ice Binding Protein

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This protein is found in cold water fishes; it binds and prevents the growth of ice crystals. 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.

1844: Coronavirus ORF3a Prediction

Fold this coronavirus protein! This is a portion of a larger protein encoded in the viral genome of SARS-CoV-2. It is encoded in a region of the genome called ORF3a, but the protein's structure and function are still unknown. If we knew how this protein folds, we might be able to figure out its exact function. The puzzle's starting structure shows SS predictions from PSIPRED, and hints which parts of the protein might fold into helices or sheets. Refold this protein to find high-scoring solutions, which will tell us how this protein is most likely to fold!

1843: Coronavirus Binder Design: Round 10

Design a binder against coronavirus! This puzzle is much like the Round 9 puzzle, but we've relaxed the restriction of ALA residues in helices and sheets. We think this may lead to better designs, so long as ALA residues are used in moderation. The Buried Unsats Objective is still in effect, and detects "unsatisfied" polar atoms that cannot make hydrogen bonds with the water surrounding the protein. If your designed protein creates Buried Unsats, then it will be less likely to fold and bind to the coronavirus target. (Note that this target protein includes 8 buried unsats that players may be unable to fix.) See the blog for more details about buried unsats, and for helpful tips to make a successful protein binder! Players will be unable to load solutions from previous puzzles.

1842: Revisiting Puzzle 124: PDZ Domain

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This domain is a component of many proteins involved in cell signaling. The protein is modeled here in reduced form, so no disulfides are expected to form. 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.

1841: Coronavirus NSP6 Prediction

Note: This puzzle was originally posted with an incorrect sequence. It was closed early and replaced by Puzzle 1841b.

1841b: Coronavirus NSP6 Prediction

Note: This puzzle replaces Puzzle 1841, which was accidentally posted with an incorrect sequence.

Beginner Puzzle (<150): Coronavirus

Design a protein binder against coronavirus! The starting structure shows how the coronavirus spike protein binds to a human receptor protein. The coronavirus protein (in gray) is mostly frozen, except for the orange and blue sidechains at the binding site. The binding site of coronavirus sticks to the human protein (in color), and this allows the coronavirus to infect human cells. We want to design a new protein that can bind to coronavirus more tightly than the human protein! A tight binder could block the normal coronavirus-human interaction, and might be used as an antiviral drug against coronavirus! Refold and mutate the starting structure to increase your score and improve binding against coronavirus!

1840: Coronavirus Anti-inflammatory Design: Round 4

Design an anti-inflammatory protein for COVID-19! This puzzle uses the new Buried Unsats Objective to detect "unsatisfied" polar atoms that cannot make hydrogen bonds with the water surrounding the protein. If your designed protein creates Buried Unsats, then it will be less likely to fold and bind to the target. (Note that this target protein includes 15 buried unsats that players may be unable to fix.) See the blog for more details about buried unsats, and for helpful tips to make a successful protein binder! Players will be unable to load solutions from previous puzzles.