Eterna Launches Million-Scale RNA Self-Replicating Molecule Design Quest
chaitjo · x · 2026-08-09
Stanford's Rhiju Das Lab and the crowdsourcing game Eterna are teaming up to find RNA molecules capable of self-replication. In initial pilot experiments, they successfully improved the catalytic activity and copyability of the 71-89 polymerase ribozyme.
The team has posted results for the first 1,000 molecule designs and launched a new puzzle, encouraging players to submit optimized designs that excel at both properties using computational methods. The next phase involves million-design-scale experiments.
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