Video Games fry your brains...and help cure AIDS

We've all been told that video games are no good. They (supposedly) promote violence, aggression, laziness, and don't normally help with the ladies...but no one ever told us they could help the search to cure viruses such as AIDS. Ya...that virus that scientists have been struggling with for decades has just seen video gamers break a code that some top minds have been frustrated with for years. The video gamers, according to the story, used a video game developed a few years ago that involves players in teams breaking down amino acids in races with other teams. It's a bit over my head so here's the quote of what the game involves...

Developed in 2008 by the University of Washington, it is a fun-for-purpose video game in which gamers, divided into competing groups, compete to unfold chains of amino acids -- the building blocks of proteins -- using a set of online tools.

Ok...that wasn't that hard to understand, but what helps the scientists is that these gamers managed to "unfold" an enzyme which is a "cutting agent" in retroviruses including HIV, something microscopes could only see in 2D, thus restricting what scientist knew about the enzyme or how they could potentially block it.

So...it's not like some guy played Call of Duty and after his 100,000th headshot a secret cure was revealed...but it's still awesome that "average" people and things can contribute to the betterment of society in ways we never expected.

Anyways...awesome story...check it out.
http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/online-gamers-crack-aids-enzyme-puzzle-161920724.html