Folding @ Home

[XxTearGodxX]

Found out about this today from a friend of mine, it's cool that whoever runs this program on their computer can help people find cures for diseases. Here's what it says on the website below and the web address below as well.

 

 

 

This is not a scam, or scam attempt if you want to fully understand it read below or read the website it's quite interesting.

 

 

 

http://folding.stanford.edu/

 

 

 

What is protein folding and how is folding linked to disease? Proteins are biology's workhorses -- its "nanomachines." Before proteins can carry out these important functions, they assemble themselves, or "fold." The process of protein folding, while critical and fundamental to virtually all of biology, in many ways remains a mystery.

 

 

 

Moreover, when proteins do not fold correctly (i.e. "misfold"), there can be serious consequences, including many well known diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers and cancer-related syndromes.

 

 

 

You can help by simply running a piece of software. Folding@Home is a distributed computing project -- people from through out the world download and run software to band together to make one of the largest supercomputers in the world. Every computer makes the project closer to our goals.

 

 

 

Folding@Home uses novel computational methods coupled to distributed computing, to simulate problems thousands to millions of times more challenging than previously achieved.

[Catbert]

It can also be done from certain gaming consoles, the PS3, with the lowest amount of numbers has hugely surpassed every other program running it

[indy500fan]

I was just thinking about making a distributed computing topic the other day :D .

 

 

 

Folding@home seems to be the one you hear about the most for some reason, I guess it's more important than a lot of other projects. Still, SETI@home has many more people doing it, just because of the demographic of people that do this.

 

 

 

I do Einstein@home (it's running almost always), it's searching for pulsars or something :lol: .

 

 

 

If you Fold you can also Einstein, or SETI, or all three, or many more. They all use BOINC (that I mentioned).

 

 

 

EDIT: Yes if you have a PS3 you should definitely Fold, it completely rules at it. Just make sure if you Fold on your PC and you have a PS3 don't stop on your PC, different calculations work better on different platforms.

[Viktorkrum77]

So let me get this straight. The company funding this doesn't have enough money to buy the power to do something involving "protein folding", so they are using millions of other computers?

 

 

 

In other words, wah? :-s

[indy500fan]

So let me get this straight. The company funding this doesn't have enough money to buy the power to do something involving "protein folding", so they are using millions of other computers?

 

 

 

In other words, wah? :-s

 

 

 

It's a University doing it. You can donate your unused CPU cycles to help cure find a cure for a number of diseases, it's all nonprofit.

[rocketman089]

I always thought the idea was cool but I dont trust it. Probably because I dont get how it works.

[indy500fan]

I always thought the idea was cool but I dont trust it. Probably because I dont get how it works.

 

 

 

You are sent "projects." As soon as you complete the computation in the project, it gets uploaded to the server and added to the work everyone else is doing. Each project gets sent to 4 or 5 different people, to make sure the results are valid. It is inefficient, but the results are definitely valid.

[indy500fan]

Some more info:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding@home

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein%40Home

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_computing

[Somnambulism]

I fold for team 32.

[Viktorkrum77]

I agree with Rocketman, it's just too confusing to bother with.

[indy500fan]

I agree with Rocketman, it's just too confusing to bother with.

 

 

 

1. Download the program

 

2. Install the program

 

3. type http://folding.stanford.edu/ in the box

 

4. Never think about it again

 

 

 

After that you will be a part of helping cure all kinds of diseases.

[Somnambulism]

It's not confusing at all. Download a program, install it, enter a username (don't need to register, just enter one of your choice), then never worry about it again. In fact I can't remember if it even needs installing.

[Viktorkrum77]

You are sent "projects." As soon as you complete the computation in the project, it gets uploaded to the server and added to the work everyone else is doing. Each project gets sent to 4 or 5 different people, to make sure the results are valid. It is inefficient, but the results are definitely valid.

 

 

 

That was what was confusing me.

 

 

 

Can you do it only once per IP? Or could all of my computers run it?

[Somnambulism]

All of them. I'm currently doing it on a machine that receives the internet from another machine, which in turn is behind a NAT.

[indy500fan]

Can you do it only once per IP? Or could all of my computers run it?

 

 

 

All of them can run it.

[assassin_696]

I do the Einstein one as well, searching for black holes ftw :P

 

 

 

Apparently I have 28,118.05 worth of credit.

[kido14]

Hey didn't know you were still around teargod =p.

 

 

 

Just out of curiosity, are you personally working on this project, or are you just helping out the cause?

 

 

 

Also, aren't a few of those diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's neurological diseases dealing with neurotransmitters rather than something to do with proteins? Or is that not what you were saying..?

[Viktorkrum77]

The government probably already has a cure for cancer, but can't release it, due to the economic repercussions.

[indy500fan]

I do the Einstein one as well, searching for black holes ftw :P

 

 

 

Apparently I have 28,118.05 worth of credit.

 

 

 

I only have 8,500 worth of credit so far for Einstein, I think I'll start Folding one of these days.

 

 

 

Are you on a team? We could make a TIF team for Folding, Einstein, SETI, whichever one.

[assassin_696]

I do the Einstein one as well, searching for black holes ftw :P

 

 

 

Apparently I have 28,118.05 worth of credit.

 

 

 

I only have 8,500 worth of credit so far for Einstein, I think I'll start Folding one of these days.

 

 

 

Are you on a team? We could make a TIF team for Folding, Einstein, SETI, whichever one.

 

 

 

Nah i'm not, I think I could figure out how to make one though unless you want to.

[indy500fan]

Nah i'm not, I think I could figure out how to make one though unless you want to.

 

 

 

Go for it, I don't know how teams work.

[assassin_696]

See if this works

 

 

 

http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/team_displ ... eamid=7957

[warri0r45]

I'd always thought that protiens fold into thier confirmational (3-D) shape due to electrical interactions of thier amino acids 'R' groups. I'm probably missing something...

[indy500fan]

See if this works

 

 

 

http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/team_displ ... eamid=7957

 

 

 

I think it worked, probably needs time to update though. When I clicked on the link it said two members, but just listed you. I just joined, and it still only says two members, and still just lists you. If nothing registers by tomorrow I will try again.

[assassin_696]

I've just checked, and I think you've joined now as well.