Folding research recruits unconventional help Michael Gross  Current Biology  Volume 22, Issue 2, Pages R35-R38 (January 2012) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.01.008 Copyright © 2012 Terms and Conditions

Folding puzzle: The rearrangement of a linear polymer into a compact three-dimensional shape proceeds autonomously in nature but is still puzzling biochemists. (Photo: Michael Gross.) Current Biology 2012 22, R35-R38DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2012.01.008) Copyright © 2012 Terms and Conditions

Folding fun: Tens of thousands of online game players around the world have contributed to folding research via the game Foldit, developed at the University of Washington at Seattle. (Photo: Mohini Patel Glanz.) Current Biology 2012 22, R35-R38DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2012.01.008) Copyright © 2012 Terms and Conditions

Folding target: The target structure of the CASP8 competition (coloured) compared with the predictions submitted (grey). (Photo: Daniel Keedy, Jane S. Richardson — Source Wikimedia commons.) Current Biology 2012 22, R35-R38DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2012.01.008) Copyright © 2012 Terms and Conditions

Prediction progress: Predicted (left) and experimental (right) structure of the Ras G domain studied by Debora Marks et al. using only evolutionary constraints for the prediction. (Image reproduced with permission from Marks D.S. et al. (2011). Protein 3D structure computed from evolutionary sequence variation. PLoS One 6, e28766. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028766.) Current Biology 2012 22, R35-R38DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2012.01.008) Copyright © 2012 Terms and Conditions