Folding @ Home

[Dick Blonov]

My work PC is running 24x7+ one Linux box at home. I'll see if I can get my hands on some of the new sun uber boxes we have in the lab


DB

[blackmain]

Can someone please explain to me what is going on in very simple terms?

[Sirusblk]

Can someone please explain to me what is going on in very simple terms?

The way I understand it, is there's quite a number of protein combinations that could be artificially synthasized (ones that we haven't encountered naturally) and basically the uses for those would go into any cure you can imagine. Cancer, the common cold, etc. Those sound ludicrous and we really can't say that a protein combination will cure cancer but there are great medical ramifications for certain protein combinations.

Only thing is there's something like a million and one combination is not just of one protein string but a million and one protein strings to be tested. To save time and money (it takes a long time to synthesize proteins artificially), Stanford University decided to run computer simulations, they soon figured out even dedicating their mass computer resources would take way too long.

That's where we come in. By everyone letting their individual computers and PS3s fold protein structures when they're not in use, you're helping run those simulations.

So yes my PS3 is curing cancer :P

[marstein]

No.
The DNA in your cells doesn't tell your body to grow a head with a brain inside. It has instructions to make proteins. Those proteins are huge, complex things that change their shapes depending on other nearby chemicals or whatever influences. That's how they transport nutrients out of your gut into the bloodstream and so on. This folding happens in a very short time. Since proteins are huge molecules, made up of a lot of atoms it is very computing intensive to find out what happens. It is important, though because if we know how the AIDS proteins fold (for example) we can come up with another protein that prevents that AIDS protein from folding thus preventing desease.
Anyhow, check out http://folding.stanford.edu/English/FAQ - they will be able to explain it more clearly and what I say is mostly made up anyhow.

[Quest Shady]

I just got my PS3 the other day...I already started the folding program and will look at adding to the teams count...

[KillDaddy]

always left the desktop running non-stop anyway, so now it's Folding. Gonna install it on my machine at work as well since it runs 24/7 anyway.

[NerdyDodge]

Downloaded and running it.

[Spulat]

I haven't done Folding@Home in so long...

Downloaded, and joined the team

[HAZMAT]

I've got it up and running now too.

I will be bringing 6 more computers together to work on curing cancer!