What do computer games and science have in common? Well, when working together, they can figure out a structure for an enzyme of a virus very similar to HIV, that scientists had not been able to descipher!
According with this article published in a Yahoo! gaming blog, a group of gamers using a program called "Foldit" produced an accurate model of an enzyme that had eluded scientists for a decade.
The importance of this discovery is that, as stated in the article, knowing the structure of the enzyme will allow the design of better "antiretroviral" drugs, which are key in fighting HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS.
