Fighting Cancer and Diseases with Computers
Help Full Sail’s CMI team contribute to the cause.
Folding@Home utilizes processing power from multiple computers to further medical research.
When instructor Matt Leskey found out he could help speed up research of deadly diseases by donating some space on his computer, it seemed like a good fit. In fact, he recruited the other instructors from Full Sail’s Computers, Math and the Internet (CMI) team to join him.
They have joined thousands of other computer users who are helping to fight cancer and other diseases by loaning their unused processing power to a worldwide research initiative called Folding@Home.
Folding@Home is run by the Stanford University’s Chemistry department. The project analyzes the way proteins assemble or “fold” themselves in the body, an extremely fast and complex process. Proteins that assemble incorrectly are linked to diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, cystic fibrosis, BSE (Mad Cow disease), an inherited form of emphysema, and even many cancers.
Stanford also partnered with Sony in order to develop the software capable of simulating this protein folding process. Full Sail Game Development grad Yunpeng Zhu , a software developer at Sony’s Research and Development department, said he was proud to contribute to the project. Yunpeng explained that Sony’s Cell Processor, the same technology driving the PlayStation 3’s hardware, speeds up the time it takes to make Folding@Home’s complex calculations. “Normally you would do that kind of work with regular PCs and graphics cards, but it takes a long time to do!”
Because it’s impossible to watch the process that leads up to these diseases, scientists are simulating it and analyzing how potential drugs will bind to proteins in the body using algorithms.
Distributed Computing Process
"These calculations that we have to do are very challenging,” Vijay Pande, who runs the Stanford project, told CNN. “Even if we were given all of the supercomputer resources in the country we still would not be able to do the types of things that we can do with Folding@Home."
The Folding@Home project enables the program to divide the complicated calculations into smaller packets. “Basically, people volunteer the extra power that is available on their computer by downloading the Folding@Home client,” says Leskey, Associate Course Director for CMI. “The client utilizes unused computer power to work on a small chunk of a larger unit. By splitting the work units between a few thousand computers, the project has processing power that is equivalent to several supercomputers.”
The concept of “distributed computing” – harnessing the CPU power of many computers working together – is something the CMI instructors teach students. “This is pretty cool since it helps the cancer fight and it utilizes technologies and concepts that we teach in class,” said CMI Course Director Frank Long.
Team Full Sail
As of August 20, Team Full Sail was ranked 6,182 of 74,369. “It would be nice to get help and put Full Sail on the mark,” said Long.
The Folding@Home program can be downloaded from any of the major platforms. “When the user downloads the program, they need to create a user name and pick a team,” said Long. “The Full Sail team number to join is 66988.”
The Stanford group has gotten support from several major corporations including Google, Apple, Dell, Sony and Intel, as well as groups like the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Sony has also enabled PS3 users to download and run the client on the game system when it’s not in use.
CMI wants to get more Full Sailors on board. “We are trying to get people involved,” said Leskey.
*Click here for more information about the Folding@Home project.
*Click here to download the program (Full Sail’s team number: 66988).
They have joined thousands of other computer users who are helping to fight cancer and other diseases by loaning their unused processing power to a worldwide research initiative called Folding@Home.
Folding@Home is run by the Stanford University’s Chemistry department. The project analyzes the way proteins assemble or “fold” themselves in the body, an extremely fast and complex process. Proteins that assemble incorrectly are linked to diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, cystic fibrosis, BSE (Mad Cow disease), an inherited form of emphysema, and even many cancers.
Stanford also partnered with Sony in order to develop the software capable of simulating this protein folding process. Full Sail Game Development grad Yunpeng Zhu , a software developer at Sony’s Research and Development department, said he was proud to contribute to the project. Yunpeng explained that Sony’s Cell Processor, the same technology driving the PlayStation 3’s hardware, speeds up the time it takes to make Folding@Home’s complex calculations. “Normally you would do that kind of work with regular PCs and graphics cards, but it takes a long time to do!”
Because it’s impossible to watch the process that leads up to these diseases, scientists are simulating it and analyzing how potential drugs will bind to proteins in the body using algorithms.
Distributed Computing Process
"These calculations that we have to do are very challenging,” Vijay Pande, who runs the Stanford project, told CNN. “Even if we were given all of the supercomputer resources in the country we still would not be able to do the types of things that we can do with Folding@Home."
By splitting the work units between a few thousand computers, the project has processing power that is equivalent to several supercomputers.
Matt Leskey, Associate Course Director, Computers, Math and the Internet
The concept of “distributed computing” – harnessing the CPU power of many computers working together – is something the CMI instructors teach students. “This is pretty cool since it helps the cancer fight and it utilizes technologies and concepts that we teach in class,” said CMI Course Director Frank Long.
Team Full Sail
As of August 20, Team Full Sail was ranked 6,182 of 74,369. “It would be nice to get help and put Full Sail on the mark,” said Long.
The Folding@Home program can be downloaded from any of the major platforms. “When the user downloads the program, they need to create a user name and pick a team,” said Long. “The Full Sail team number to join is 66988.”
The Stanford group has gotten support from several major corporations including Google, Apple, Dell, Sony and Intel, as well as groups like the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Sony has also enabled PS3 users to download and run the client on the game system when it’s not in use.
CMI wants to get more Full Sailors on board. “We are trying to get people involved,” said Leskey.
*Click here for more information about the Folding@Home project.
*Click here to download the program (Full Sail’s team number: 66988).
