news from stanford

[sbohdan]

this news is 2 months old but maybe some of you didn't know...:

Two Million CPUs have returned work
We have just passed the 2,000,000 CPU mark -- 2M CPUs have at some time contributed to FAH. Right now, over 200,000 CPUs are actively returning work. With the addition of PS3 donors, Folding@Home is the most powerful distributed computing resource on the planet, and for the calculations we run (parallel independent molecular dynamics trajectories), the most powerful supercomputer of any type (distributed or otherwise).

[Jokerswild]

What has come from all this CPU usage?

[onebxr]

big electric bills

[Adak]

Data!

Lots and lots of data - sauce for the goose, if you're a scientist. :D

Proteins studied involve everything from those considered critically important for certain cancers, to Muscular Dystrophy, Alzheimers, and the critical part of the cell that is used to produce most of our bacterial killers, as well.

Not only has it been successful, it's been so successful, that a few more "clones" of it, have been created. Proteins@Home in France, is one such.

There's no shortage of simulations that need to be run, don't worry! :)

As we learn more about the way these molecules are shaped, and why, and what happens when they shape themselves incorrectly, we'll be able to really get a much better grip on just WTF is going on with these diseases, at a molecular level.

THAT's the level we want to learn about and get down to. Now we have to settle for "by intelligent guess and by golly" methods to cure lots of diseases, and of course, lots of them have no cure -- yet.

[sbohdan]

you tell them Adak ... you tell them

for the others: if you aren't helping - fine - just spare your scepticism. we need your CPU power - not your negativity

[Jokerswild]

Originally Posted by sbohdan

you tell them Adak ... you tell them

for the others: if you aren't helping - fine - just spare your scepticism. we need your CPU power - not your negativity

Not negativity just wondering whats come from it since nothing is ever mentioned in online news that I see.

[onebxr]

LOL mine wasn't negativity just messin about.
-1

[sbohdan]

I see you guys are bored lol, so why don't you help us out and in the meantime you can read up on the results @ stanfords website here: Results

come and join for the team and for the cure BTW, it is fun also

[Dread]

Folding@home, when installed and setup properly (very easy to do), does not
degrade your system performance, and can be turned off with no problems (except SMP clients) whenever you want the machine off.

There really is no good reason NOT to have it running on your systems.
I have 12 systems running 24/7 with it right now, and getting ready to add 2 more to the mix.

[Adak]

Originally Posted by Jokerswild

Not negativity just wondering whats come from it since nothing is ever mentioned in online news that I see.

You probably didn't read down far enough. In the releases for the PS3 and it's folding client, there were several mentions of the numerous academic papers and accolades given to Folding@Home.

It just makes sense: If you have a problem with your transmission in your car, you want to take it to somebody who knows what it's SUPPOSED to look like, when he opens up the transmission's casing.

Same with our body, our organs, our cells, and yes, our proteins! They're fantastically complicated, and there's NO WAY they could be researched in a lab, even using automated equipment, when possible. It would simply take hundreds of years to get a start at it, that way!

(some have been done by hand, in a limited manner).

F@H is doing MUCH more - but this is pure research, more than applied research. Both lead to significant progress, but pure research leads to the larger "jumps" in knowledge. The cures will come AFTER we've done our folding, more likely 10 years afterward.

Take the collagen proteins we were folding so many of. That could be used for a better cosmetic skin care product - but it could also lead to a cure or treatment for people with 3rd degree burns or melanoma skin cancer, or many genetic diseases that affect the skin and it's underlying tissue.

The break through cure may not come from F@Home's data for any one disease, but the thing is WE DON'T KNOW where the cure for something like ALS or Cardiovascular disease, etc., will be found.

So we compromise - and look everywhere! We look from the systemic side, from the macro side, from the micro side; you name it, we need to look THERE!

The fascinating thing about protein folding, is that the SHAPE of the protein after it folds, determines WHAT the protein CAN and CAN'T do, and how efficiently it can do it's job, and with what other molecules it can even interact with, to an extent. It's like your car couldn't drive really fast, unless it first folded itself into something that looked like a Ferrari!

When you see the artistry and design of the healthy cell proteins at work - it's a real OMG, experience. Amazing stuff!

As an aside, science would be nowhere without assertions (hypothesis's), and skepticism concerning them. This forum may not be the best place for it, but I am always glad to see a healthy dose around. It's a positive, more than a negative, imo.