The web has created new possibilities for collaboration that fit under the terms crowdsourcing and human-based computation. Crowdsourcing applies when a task or problem is outsourced to an undefined public rather than a specific body. Human-based computation refers to ways that humans and computers can work together to solve problems. These two methods come together to accomplish the task of protein structure solving, given the amino acid sequence and the Foldit program. A journalistic window on what has happened is provided in this commentary.