1739: Aflatoxin Challenge: Round 13

Summary

Name:

Status:

Closed

Created:

09/30/2019

Points:

100

Expired:

10/14/2019 - 23:00

Difficulty:

Intermediate

Description:

The Aflatoxin Challenge is back! The Siegel Lab has found a new enzyme scaffold that is better suited to degrade the aflatoxin molecule, and they're asking Foldit players to redesign the enzyme so that it can bind aflatoxin more strongly! Players may insert up to 10 extra residues into two designable loops, at a cost of 20 points per residue. Players may also mutate the sidechains at positions 122 and 123, where the backbone is fixed. Parts of the scaffold protein have been trimmed to reduce the size of the puzzle, and we've upweighted ligand interactions by a factor of five. We'd like to see if Foldit players can design proteins that make more interactions with the ligand! See the blog for more details.

Aflatoxins are a class of poisonous compounds that contaminate a significant portion of the global food supply. In this puzzle, players are challenged to redesign an enzyme that could break down aflatoxin molecules. The majority of the protein is frozen, with the aflatoxin ligand fixed in a binding pocket. Surrounding the binding pocket are two loops that might be redesigned without affecting the folding stability of the protein. In these loops, players may manipulate the protein backbone and mutate the residue sidechains. Redesign the loops of this protein to better bind the aflatoxin ligand!

This is the 13th round of our Aflatoxin Challenge, sponsored by Mars Inc. and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Promising designs will be tested by the Siegel Lab at UC Davis. By participating in the challenge/game, the players agree that all player designs will be available permanently in the public domain, and the players will not seek intellectual property protection over the designs created as part of the challenge/game.

Categories:

Design, Overall

Rank

Group

Score

Points

Contenders

10,141

100

Gargleblasters

10,032

Beta Folders

10,015

Go Science

9,974

L'Alliance Francophone

9,969

Rank

Player

Group

Score

Points

Blipperman 17 38

Gargleblasters

10,032

100

10,023

10,015

9,974

christioanchauvin 53 29

L'Alliance Francophone

9,969

Rank

Player

Group

Score

Points

Bletchley Park 24 19

Contenders

10,141

100

10,031

10,015

9,938

9,931

Mon, 09/30/2019 - 23:37

NinjaGreg 21 15

Offline

Joined: 05/21/2010

Groups: Go Science

You might want to reconsider your release sequence

If you prepare the server database, then publicize it to the clients, then list it here, people couldn't download it from here before you were ready for it. Just sayin'.

Tue, 10/01/2019 - 00:06

bkoep 79 459

Offline

Joined: 11/15/2012

Groups: None

Access before 23:00?

Hmm, all of that should have happened simultaneously at 23:00. Were you able to see this puzzle page before it was visible in the client?

Tue, 10/01/2019 - 01:37

LociOiling 2 1

Offline

Joined: 12/27/2012

Groups: Beta Folders

Puzzles appear first on the web...

Recently at least, puzzles are visible on the website before they show up in the game.

Someone thought the delay was exactly one hour, so possibly a time zone issue.

Some have also figured out there's download link on each puzzle page, a workaround for those who are in a hurry.

Tue, 10/01/2019 - 02:31

bkoep 79 459

Offline

Joined: 11/15/2012

Groups: None

Possibly delayed client

Hmm, I wonder if the client is delayed for some reason. The next time we post a puzzle, I'll watch the server a little more closely and see if I can figure out what's going on.