Close up of a woman's face on the beach

Human Elements

The world of science is full of facts and figures, but behind the study are the people. In the end, it becomes a question not of how they do science — but why.

Video games for a cure

University of Washington computer scientist Zoran Popovic wants to revolutionize the way people learn. He teamed up with biochemist David Baker to create a video game that enables tens of thousands of people to contribute to scientific research by folding three-dimensional protein configurations on their home computers. Users help advance how scientists understand and predict the structure of proteins that cause and advance diseases like cancer, HIV/AIDS and Alzheimer’s.