Researchers at the University of Washington are hoping to use data from the video game to help create a vaccine.
The protein-folding game allows anyone to experiment with coronavirus vaccine structures. The University of Washington Institute for Protein Design will manufacture and test the most promising solutions.
“Coronaviruses display a ‘spike’ protein on their surface, which binds tightly to a receptor protein found on the surface of human cells,” reads the game’s description. “In recent weeks, researchers have determined the structure of the 2019 coronavirus spike protein and how it binds to human receptors. If we can design a protein that binds to this coronavirus spike protein, it could be used to block the interaction with human cells and halt infection!”