I think this would be better left to computers. Here’s my reasons. Firstly, you’re really only looking for optimal conditions. You have the software to determine whether or not the links make the shape you need. Second, use your algorithm to generate specific conditions (of which you only need a few) such as the lowest kCal, the highest kCal, (using whatever temperature you need, because i’m assuming it will need to be assimilated by an organism at it’s own temperature) and then search for a (closest to 0) kCal. Outside of that, you’re really only looking for a structure that can change any of it’s parts under stress and still maintain it’s shape because i’m sure you know misfolds can be deadly. This is just far too time consuming even for a person with lots of free time. Good job with what you’ve accomplished though. I would focus my research in a more effective manner, as voting doesn’t accomplish this.
I solved enough of your problems to get to rank 54 in a day, and your puzzles are predictable. Some of my submissions go far under the allowed limit of GCs.
Hi Korsen: Thank you for the thoughts. I think that this post addresses some of the issues in your post. The key to EteRNA is that computational models of RNA folding (as in the challenge puzzles) don’t hold up in reality, and that gap in our knowledge is precisely what the EteRNA project is studying. Player contribute not only by solving puzzles, and voting, but, more importantly, by hypothesizing motifs and principles which can be used to generate successful designs, and by convincing the community that these principles, are, in fact, valid. We expect that this will become even more interesting when EteRNA moves from simple shapes to more complex nano-objects, such as switches which change shape under certain conditions, and for which there are no known algorithms.
In that case, we need to create a FAQ for players that show the typical patterns found in your puzzles and the lab layouts. I’ve found several obvious points after not even passing through the first page of puzzles. It began to become predictable the way certain people can solve any rubix cube in under 20 seconds. I can’t solve your puzzles that fast, but they’ve gotten increasingly easier for me. Where to start a wiki or faq? How do i become an employee? A guy’s gotta eat, and some of those puzzles can take up alot of time. I’ve also got some experience with programming (probably nothing useful) so if you guys wanted to share source for me to look at, i could provide suggestions and theory to help speed things along for your coders.
Also, I wasn’t merely talking about brute forcing your algorithms. The same way users actions have to make your code execute in places, your coders can generate an algorithm to flow through the same patterns of thought that i do, which are fairly binary. There’s just a limited set of results I would be searching for. Very limited indeed.
While we greatly appreciate your offer to get paid EteRNA was completely designed and developed by students at Carnegie Mellon and Stanford, and we cannot hire outsiders right now. However, you truly could perform a service to the community by posting your design insights here, and, once you gain experience in the lab, here.
A guy’s gotta eat, and some of those puzzles can take up alot of time. I’ve also got some experience with programming (probably nothing useful) so if you guys wanted to share source for me to look at, i could provide suggestions and theory to help speed things along for your coders.
EteRNA was completely designed and developed by students at Carnegie Mellon and Stanford, and we cannot hire outsiders right now. However, you truly could perform a service to the community by