After a successful pilot experiments in early 2019, Eterna is releasing Ribosome Challenge Round 1. The goal of this challenge is to create a superfolder variant of the E. coli ribosome whose assembly might be less fragile to mutations or changed solution conditions. If achieved, such a molecule could help worldwide efforts to repurpose the ribosome to make alternative polymers and more. Our initial challenge is making use of algorithmic innovations from Liang Huang (Oregon State University) and rapid in vitro assembly measurements by the lab of Mike Jewett (Northwestern University), as well as new hand-designed layouts of the ribosome RNA in two dimensions that match its three-dimensional structure. This lab round collects solutions on Feb. 1, 2020 — and remember that you need to play the incoming puzzle progression to enter the lab and take part in the discussion and solving.
