B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 1 A widely-accepted idea is that work and play cannot possibly be used in the
same sentence. Indeed, whoever thought they were must have heard wrong.
Work is something you do so that you have enough money for a decent method
of recreation. However, that is not always the case, as studies have shown
that interest in one’s subject quickens the rate of learning, which is true
if you think about it. If you find something intriguing, you would, at
any rate, be keener to learn about it. If you believe in the separation of
work and recreation, perhaps the following chain of events might change your mind. It
certainly changed mine.
But I am getting off topic. You, the reader, may or may not have heard of
the game Foldit. Either way, it is a revolutionizing interactive game which
challenges the players to find the most stable (and therefore the lowest energy)
models for proteins, with only four simple tools at hand: tweak, freeze,
wiggle, and shake. These basic functions are all Foldit players need to make
seemingly nigh-impossible-to-solve configurations actually able to work in
real life. Proteins are long complex polymers composed of linked chains of
amino acids (organic compounds composing of an amide bond between amine and
carboxylic acid groups, but let’s not get too technical), and make up key
components of our body, such as nerves and muscles. However, proteins can be
actually toxic to our body as well, and are employed by some forms of
bacteria to force their way into our cells by breaking down other proteins
and digesting them. These special proteins, called protease, are much more
toxic mass-wise than any man-made biological warfare weapon insofar as that
they are considered to pose the same, if not higher, risk as any of the
organisms that produce them.
It all may sound rather silly when first introduced, but this game actually
may change the lives of many people. Recently, Foldit players have
discovered an almost-perfect structure of a protein that is produced by the
Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (also known as M-PMV), which can cause AIDS in
monkeys, and is also a close relative to the infamous HIV virus. The
knowledge of the structure of a protease is one of the most important things
to have on hand when researching how to stop said protease, since one must
know where to target in order to disable the protein. In a time period of a
measly three weeks, a collaborative effort of many individuals online had
trumped an issue scientists had been hard at work trying to solve for over a
decade.
These individuals, most of whom have little to no real knowledge of
biochemistry, are a major real example of how recreational activities can
have a positive impact on everyday lives in need. Indeed, studies have shown
that having an actual interest in one’s topic can increase learning
ability. Now, this is not to say that the scientists do not have interest in
their work, as most probably do. However, the casual gamers of Foldit may
just have better problem-solving skills, or because of their limited
knowledge of biochemistry, are more willing to drastically change the model
structure than the scientists, who may be more careful in tweaking the
figures. As this astonishing occurrence shows, sometimes experience can
actually prove detrimental to discovery.
I actually looked at Foldit, on an account my parents made (as I apparently
am not old enough for an account), and it was much more easier to understand
than I had believed it would be, considering it was focused on organic
chemical structures, something my father works on and that I never want to
understand fully for fear of my brain imploding. But really, the rules were
simple: put hydrophobic (seen as orange) side chains on the inside of the
structure, the hydrophilic (blue) ones on the outside, try to fix any
clashes (shown as red mace-like objects), and try to make the protein as
compact as possible. Perhaps my explanation doesn’t do it justice, as the
rules seem so lengthy now, but in the game, it was easy to pick up on how to
play, with the game tutorial nudging you along as well. Also, the chat was
actually useful, as other players were helpful in helping me find my way
around in the beginning, something I wasn’t really used to. Of course,
there were multiple conversations in the same chat place, so it was
confusing, but in the end I was able to solve the puzzle I had been
questioning about.
This course of events really showcases how human ingenuity and abilities can
achieve great things, even better than modern technology. It also states
that flushing new ideas into a system can radically influence the system,
and for the better. Perhaps in the future, mankind can find enzymes that are
more efficient when converting plants into biofuels, or create more
effective and longer-lasting protein drugs. Of course, without the help of
technology people would not have nearly the same rate of efficiency, but
really the core reason people found the answer for the Monkey-Pfizer
structure was not really the program they used, but the cooperation between
themselves in attempting to solve the issue at hand. The cooperation is what
we really ought to learn, especially in worldwide crises such as these
times. Working together, people can really accomplish more than a lone voice
could ever hope for. | m**k
发帖数: 18660 | 2 safa
the
true
at
It
【在 B******1 的大作中提到】
: A widely-accepted idea is that work and play cannot possibly be used in the
: same sentence. Indeed, whoever thought they were must have heard wrong.
: Work is something you do so that you have enough money for a decent method
: of recreation. However, that is not always the case, as studies have shown
: that interest in one’s subject quickens the rate of learning, which is true
: if you think about it. If you find something intriguing, you would, at
: any rate, be keener to learn about it. If you believe in the separation of
: work and recreation, perhaps the following chain of events might change your mind. It
: certainly changed mine.
: But I am getting off topic. You, the reader, may or may not have heard of
| B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 3 Hehe.
【在 m**k 的大作中提到】
: safa
:
: the
: true
: at
: It
| E*********e
发帖数: 10297 | 4 明明是SOFA OR SHAFA
【在 m**k 的大作中提到】
: safa
:
: the
: true
: at
: It
| vn
发帖数: 6191 | | vn
发帖数: 6191 | 6 美国的孩子懂事这么早呀 这得叫议论文了吧
国内这个年龄的孩子大概还在写编故事一样的作文呢 | s*******n
发帖数: 846 | | B******1
发帖数: 9094 | 8 Almost 12. Seventh grader.
【在 s*******n 的大作中提到】
: 比我写得好多了。多大孩子写的啊
| y****i
发帖数: 12114 | 9 大概的意思：
很多人玩某个看上去很无聊的游戏，结果能帮助发现新的蛋白质，这种蛋白质可以治疗
艾滋病。玩游戏的人有的一点生物学知识也没有。所以，人多力量大，游戏也有用。
【在 vn 的大作中提到】
: 有人读下来么？
: 求摘要
| L********r
发帖数: 758 | 10 打回重读。发现的应该是可能致病的蛋白质，不是治病用的而是当靶子用的。
【在 y****i 的大作中提到】
: 大概的意思：
: 很多人玩某个看上去很无聊的游戏，结果能帮助发现新的蛋白质，这种蛋白质可以治疗
: 艾滋病。玩游戏的人有的一点生物学知识也没有。所以，人多力量大，游戏也有用。
| vn
发帖数: 6191 | 11 估计跟我一样 读到那儿已经快没耐性了
在你们的指导下我居然又读了一遍 这回知道我为什么读不下去了
这孩子想法太多了 一件事情有好多看法 最后归纳到人多力量大 呵呵 大概只有孩子思
路才能这样开阔
【在 L********r 的大作中提到】
: 打回重读。发现的应该是可能致病的蛋白质，不是治病用的而是当靶子用的。
| I*****M
发帖数: 622 | 12 这个关于FoldIt是游戏玩出来的是骗人的claim。就是大家贡献computing resources而
已。
小朋友的文笔和词汇量很赞。 | y****i
发帖数: 12114 | 13 我同意。
我按照读美国八股文的方法浏览，结果孩子的行文不是这个路数，所以看着有点累。
12岁，写成这样已经不错了，如果没有大人插手的话。
【在 vn 的大作中提到】
: 估计跟我一样 读到那儿已经快没耐性了
: 在你们的指导下我居然又读了一遍 这回知道我为什么读不下去了
: 这孩子想法太多了 一件事情有好多看法 最后归纳到人多力量大 呵呵 大概只有孩子思
: 路才能这样开阔
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