From Rosetta to the Nobel

The Prompt

Trace the scientific lineage of Foldit. Cite the M-PMV retroviral protease breakthrough of 2011 (Nature Structural & Molecular Biology), at least one other peer-reviewed publication with Foldit player co-authorship (Nature, Nature Biotechnology, or PNAS), and David Baker's 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for computational protein design. Explain what it means for citizen scientists to co-author papers in Nature — what claim does that co-authorship make about the nature of scientific expertise, and what does the game's lineage from Rosetta@home to the Nobel reveal about the relationship between play and discovery?

Completion Criteria

Three citations (the M-PMV protease paper, one further player co-authored publication, and the Nobel Prize) and a short essay of three or four paragraphs on the relationship between citizen science, play, and scientific discovery.

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