Foldit

Yes, Foldit players have made genuine contributions to biochemistry research. Most notably, in 2011 players helped determine the structure of a retroviral protease enzyme related to the Mason-Pfizer monkey virus, a problem that had gone unsolved by scientists for over a decade. The findings were published in a peer-reviewed journal with Foldit players listed as co-authors.

Yes, Foldit is completely free to download and play. The game was developed at the University of Washington's Center for Game Science specifically as a crowdsourced research tool, so there is no cost or subscription required to participate.

No prior scientific knowledge is required to play Foldit. The game includes interactive tutorials that teach players how to manipulate protein structures through intuitive dragging and folding mechanics, and some of the most successful Foldit players have been non-scientists who developed strong spatial reasoning skills through gameplay.

Researchers at the University of Washington analyze the highest-scoring protein folding solutions submitted by players and use them to generate hypotheses about real protein structures. The most promising solutions are then validated through laboratory experiments, and significant discoveries are published in scientific literature with contributing players credited.