Folding@Home

No, I'm not talking about your laundry. ;)

Folding@Home is a distributed computing project run by Stanford University to research the process of protein folding. More specifically, they are studying the phenomenon of proteins that do not fold correctly, and the role they play in such diseases as Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's and Parkinson's disease, and many forms of cancer. The project began over seven years ago, with the beta version of the software released in 2000.

The Folding@Home project utilizes a concept known as distributed computing, where the complex calculations required to simulate the folding process are broken down into chunks of smaller, more manageable calculations (called Work Units) that are then sent to the client software running on a home user's computer (or PS3). The client software runs in the background, using "spare" CPU cycles. Once the client software finishes the folding simulation of the individual Work Unit it was assigned, the results are uploaded to Stanford's servers where Work Unit results from users all over the world are re-assembled for further analysis. The hundreds of thousands of home computers running the client software provide enough computing power to "simulate problems thousands to millions of times more challenging than previously achieved", according to the Folding@Home website.

The online gaming group I belong to has joined the folding effort, and all are welcome to join our team. Yes, even YOU! You don't need to be a gamer, but if you are, we even welcome rival clans. ;)

So what do you need to do to join the folding effort?
- Go to http://folding.stanford.edu and download the client software. Client software is available for PC, Mac, and even PlayStation 3!
- Install the software, select a username, and join Team [760] by adding team number 70586 in the config window.
- Let it run in the background. That's it - you're folding!

Once you've finished your first Work Unit, your folding stats will appear on the Stanford website, and the Team [760] Stats Page.

As a fun added bonus for Team [760] members, I've personally put together a much more comprehensive stat tracking system: Team [760] Folding@Home Advanced Stats. We realize it's not a competition amongst ourselves or other teams -- these stats are just for fun, and serve to document our progress and help visualize our contribution to the project as a whole.

Even if you don't join Team [760], I hope you'll consider joining the Folding@Home project. It's a worthwhile cause.