Category: Weird

By far, the the most animated and excited description of a car crash.

Online gamers have achieved a feat beyond the realm of Second Life or Dungeons and Dragons: they have deciphered the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that had thwarted scientists for a decade.

The exploit is published on Sunday in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, where — exceptionally in scientific publishing — both gamers and researchers are honoured as co-authors. Their target was a monomeric protease enzyme, a cutting agent in the complex molecular tailoring of retroviruses, a family that includes HIV. Figuring out the structure of proteins is vital for understanding the causes of many diseases and developing drugs to block them.

But a microscope gives only a flat image of what to the outsider looks like a plate of one-dimensional scrunched-up spaghetti. Pharmacologists, though, need a 3-D picture that “unfolds” the molecule and rotates it in order to reveal potential targets for drugs.

Read more… Thanks John for the link.

The claim is that 65% of Americans gave 450 volt shock, therefore, 2/3 of Americans (and others) are evil, misses Milgram’s point. Milgram did 19 variations of this experiment, varying the relationship between the scientist, teacher and victim. As a result of the variations, 0% to 90% of people gave 450 volt shocks to victims. Milgram argued his proves the particular relationship with authority, not innate evilness in people, causes such evil acts.