Gamers the Cure for AIDS?

[walker 0]

Hi all

Human Intuition using tens of thousands of Gamers in a Cloud computing environment have succeeded in weeks in solving a problem that has bedeviled scientists with super computers for more than a decade:

Gamers Succeed Where Scientists Fail: Molecular Structure of Retrovirus Enzyme Solved, Doors Open to New AIDS Drug Design

ScienceDaily (Sep. 18, 2011)

Gamers have solved the structure of a retrovirus enzyme whose configuration had stumped scientists for more than a decade. The gamers achieved their discovery by playing Foldit, an online game that allows players to collaborate and compete in predicting the structure of protein molecules...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110918144955.htm

As always follow the link to the story in full

Should spawn a whole bunch of interesting methodologies in various aspects of science and business.

Additional information and technical background

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100804151406.htm

Kind Regards walker

[Darkhorse 1-6 16]

I initially thought this was related to this: http://folding.stanford.edu/

Both are interesting and inventive ways for the average person to help with research, I'm glad it worked out for them.

Edited September 19, 2011 by Darkhorse 1-6

[Rovka 14]

*snip*

My apologies for my little stupid rant backthere, was too lengthy, and too unneccessary. It also had a high chance on instigating flamewar. Thus self-deleted/edited.. Again my apologies for those who'd happen to have read it, and felt offended by it.

To be on-topic: It's good that after all the game-bashing from those overly-protective near-neurotical types, it of all things seems to be gaming itself which may produce a short-term solution, where it borrows time for those struck with in this case Aids.. And I say borrowed time, for somewhere next in line to go large will eventually be the anti-biotics resistant killer-virus striking down millions, if not litterally a billion or 2 perhaps even 3 or more, before it'll ultimately be contained..

Best thing to prevent illness, is to keep the numbers as low as possible and feasable to insure equal amount sub-races (for me human race is one as whole, color differs here and there.) be able to procreate, yet on a less relentless birth-wave come crashing down as it is now, which'll also and mostly truly gives both rich and poor, and everything in between more chances of equal happiness in their lives.

Less demands, less shortages, less resource dwindling as at current speed, etc.. We cannot want to continue onwards to 12 billion people or more. Food may be eventually distributed equal, but what if it causes all the more people to be born, where they initially see their chances as more hopefull? (Like post WW2 babyboomers in Europe per set example.) when the seemingly worst has been left behind them?

I'd rather not wish to be around, to grow old, and see ex-Aids patiënts suffer all the more horrible due to resource-wars, more poverty due to changing weather patterns going to extremes and whatnot. Not to mention the likeliness of what overcrowding brings.. Take entire Africa for example.. Mostly tribal wars based on ethnicallity, and whatfor?

To keep the "aid-industry" alive, whilst those latter leech from their poverty, feeding you sad striking imagery to pay their salaries? Mankind should not tinker with what's nature to decide on what stays and what goes.. We wouldn't have been here if it wasn't for the dinosaurs to go extinct either.. So death doesn't merely bring dispair and suffering, where it creates improving chances for those who survive aswell.

This message is perhaps a bit repetitive to what I wrote earlier on, but I hope it's a bit more acceptable to read through, and hand feedback to.. The previous thing was just way too outrageous to read at all, if I may say so.. (Also the previous version truly was the infamous wall of text, and hardly arguementive at all.)

Happy reading, and thanks for the reply and sharing of differing opinion, and/or vision if you do wish to answer or otherwise refer to this post..

Edited September 19, 2011 by Thani '82

[solidsnake2384 10]

Ok..... :j:

[Innomadic 10]

This is that folding at home stuff correct?

[ryguy 10]

Inb4 forums.bistudio can find something negative in anything walker posts ;)

I think it's amazing.

[max power 21]

This is that folding at home stuff correct?

I don't think so.

[walker 0]

Hi all

In reply Innomadic's point:

This is that folding at home stuff correct?

No.

Folding at home is a distributed super computer using donated capacity on peoples home computers in much the same way as the SETI at home project.

This is a different paradigm, where human intuition and pattern recognition is used in the form of a game to spot and use the folding pattern.

If you think about it for second, you will see that the two are in fact the same!

It is just that in first case it is excess capacity in distributed hardware whereas the second uses excess capacity in distributed wetwear.

The wetwear has a massive advantage in algorithms in the form of evolution and in neural capacity in the form of the brain which is as big as a super computer and neural network learning in the form of life experience.

The Paradigm shift occurs in the recognition of the capacity of wetwear computers (human minds) and in designing an interface to use said wetwear; to whit a game!

I am reminded of the lyrics of a song sung by July Andrews.

A Spoonful Of Sugar

Mary Poppins:

[spoken]

In ev'ry job that must be done

There is an element of fun

You find the fun and snap!

The job's a game

http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/mary_poppins_soundtrack/a_spoonful_of_sugar-lyrics-77796.html

As always follow the link to the text in full; in this case a lyric!

r9Pbd3RSbLo

Kind regards walker

Edited September 20, 2011 by walker
Added Julie Andrews for the Lols

[dm 9]

I like it.

Science fails for 10 years, make it an xbox live achievement and its solved in a matter of days. The power of hats :D

[walker 0]

Hi all

As I pointed out in the first post now that the concept is proven it:

...Should spawn a whole bunch of interesting methodologies in various aspects of science and business...

Heavy Hint! BIS, being a complex game interface producer may want to do research in this, there is probably some DARPA and other Defence departments and NATO funding.

Kind Regards walker

[mr burns 132]

Thumbs up for foldit! Tried it once and hated it, but nice to see others are doing good with it.

Big question, who benefits from multibillion $ contracts of the new drugs? :D

[walker 0]

Big question, who benefits from multibillion $ contracts of the new drugs? :D

Hi Mr Burns

Not the Condom industry :D

Kind Regards walker

[st_dux 26]

I read about this other day. Very cool, but it's misleading to say that a cure to AIDS has been found. We're still a long way off from that.

[solidsnake2384 10]

A man has been cured from AIDS though with some type of bone marrow transplant in I think it was Germany. And very few people re actually immune to the AIDS virus. They have a super T cell or something, i dont remember.

[ryguy 10]

A man has been cured from AIDS though with some type of bone marrow transplant in I think it was Germany.

It was a full bone marrow transplant and blood transfusion... not exactly what you'd call a cure

[Dwarden 1125]

great example, not first i heard of but i forgot these previous attempts

they use gamers to solve some similar puzzles for treatments on cancer

[aservieL 10]

That's really awesome, since 1996, dealing with HIV and AIDS has not transformed much. The same narcotics on basically the same regimens are recommended. Scientists have been attempting to figure out how the proteins of this family of viruses work together. Now, in three weeks, a group of gamers untangled an AIDS-like virus that scientists have been puzzling over for years. Article resource: Decade-long AIDS puzzle solved by groups of gamers. These people are really genius.

[Hans Ludwig 0]

Ughh! AIDS/HIV is so 80s.

[solidsnake2384 10]

Ya. We got the swine flu now!

---------- Post added at 09:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:43 PM ----------

But I havent heard any cases of that in like....a year...?

[rangerpl 13]

I must admit, when I read "Gamers the cure for AIDS" I thought to myself - "Of course, HIV/AIDS is generally transmitted through sexual contact, thus gamers are not at risk".

Kidding aside, using gamers to solve problems like this is a great idea. I just wouldn't go ahead and call it "the cure for AIDS" yet, as this is just a small piece of the puzzle, though an important one nonetheless.

Also

Up yours, Jack Thompson

[walker 0]

Hi RangerPl

Hense "?" in the title.

Kind Regards walker