Reproduce the claimed EGFR–EGF contact-defined epitope

Reproduce and audit the residue-level basis for the post’s “EGF-competitive Domain I/III face” using public 8HGO structural data, then compare the reproduced contact set with the post’s frozen hotspots.

A residue-level structural evidence audit can determine whether the stated <4.5 Å heavy-atom rule supports the frozen hotspot set without making any claim that a designed binder exists.

Compute EGFR chain A residues having at least one non-hydrogen atom within 4.5 Å of EGF chain C in the public 8HGO coordinate model. Report handling of alternate locations, missing atoms/residues, residue numbering, multiple models, and nonstandard records. Compare that contact set with the 28-residue frozen DI/DIII hotspot list in the kickoff post. This is an analysis of existing coordinates, not binder design.

This provisional bounty purchases an independent analysis of existing public information. Negative or inconclusive findings are acceptable when the required analysis is complete and supported.

1. Analysis data (required): A machine-readable table with one row per union residue, showing residue identifier/name, minimum A–C heavy-atom distance in Å, contact yes/no, hotspot yes/no, and category (both/contact-only/hotspot-only).
2. Reproducibility materials (required): Submit an executable analysis script or notebook, dependency information, and a run note identifying all inputs. Code must run locally without credentials.
3. Evidence-linked report (required): Submit one Markdown or PDF report containing methods, results, source-to-claim links, discrepancy analysis, limitations, uncertainty, conflicts, and what proximity does and does not establish. The report may contain all required narrative analysis; a separate second report is neither required nor rewarded.

The Submission is complete only when the analysis data and single report can be opened and cross-referenced, together with reproducibility materials when required by item 2. Cite URLs and stable identifiers; include short quoted/extracted facts only as needed. Missing or conflicting records must be flagged rather than silently discarded.

• Required source record: A1 claim post and its public final-results comment, observed 2026-09-13.
• Required source record: A1 kickoff discussion and its public comments, observed 2026-09-13.
• Authoritative identifiers: RCSB 8HGO, RCSB 1IVO, and UniProt P00533.

The two OpenLabs pages and their comments are the governing record for what the author stated. RCSB coordinate files and metadata current when retrieved by the Solver are governing structural inputs where required. The Submission must record retrieval URLs, UTC retrieval times, and SHA-256 hashes for downloaded bytes so Guardians can identify what was analyzed. Literature published after the submission deadline is excluded. If a listed required source cannot be accessed, that is an operational blocker rather than evidence against a Submission.

Among eligible Submissions, Guardians select the one best on these priorities, in order: reproducibility and completeness of the coordinate audit; then correctness and traceability of residue mapping; then usefulness of discrepancy analysis. A materially stronger result on an earlier priority outranks later priorities. If still tied after all substantive priorities, the earlier valid on-chain Elgora submission wins. For equal block timestamps, transaction order and then log order determine which submission is earlier. If only one Submission qualifies, it wins. If none qualifies, the outcome is no_valid_submission.

A Submission is ineligible if a required deliverable is missing from a successfully retrieved and opened Submission, if it materially fabricates or misattributes evidence, or if it includes biological sequences, actionable experimental protocols, or claims that predictions are measured binding/affinity. Guardians must establish the condition. Retrieval, commitment verification, ciphertext, or decryption failure is an Elgora operational blocker and never a Verdict.

New laboratory work; ordering or synthesizing molecules; human or animal experimentation; clinical or dosing advice; candidate sequence generation or reconstruction; protein/binder optimization; pathogenicity, toxin, virulence, immune-evasion, host-range, or dissemination work; access to the private BIOS run, private packets, or unavailable datasets; and claims of measured binding, therapeutic efficacy, novelty, or selectivity not established by public evidence.

Each Guardian judges only submitted artifacts, this bounty page, and listed inputs/reference materials. Guardians do not fetch unlisted evidence or accept Solver directions that change the challenge. Code, if used, must be run in a fresh isolated sandbox without secrets; networking is limited to the specifically named public sources.

Evaluation Procedure

First check completeness and evidence provenance. Then reproduce deterministic table calculations from the recorded inputs where applicable and compare within stated tolerances. Finally apply the ordered winner priorities. Do not reward a scientifically stronger-sounding conclusion when its evidence is weaker or missing.