Help this very worthy cause!

[crazy4offroad]

Hello, everyone, first-time poster here so be easy on me! I'm a member of several forums, so I know how irritating spammers can be. But this is no spam! Let me get right to it...

Stanford University has a free distributed computing software which combines the computing power of over 200,000 active CPUs world-wide to help map protein folding and it's subequent misfolding, which can result in protein-based diseases and cancers. Some examples are ALS, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease and Mad Cow Disease (BLS) to name just a few.

Protein folding is an amazing feat of biology. A protein (or RNA string) can fold thousands or millions of times on itself in just nanoseconds, becoming a cell part of almost every cell in your body. So you can see why many thousands of PCs are required for the mathematical decryption of the natural 'miracle' protein folding has been dubbed. Mapping this complex occurrance is the mission of Folding@Home. Stanford University is the proud owner of the largest Supercomputer in the entire world. Folks like you and I have made it our joint mission to help our friends and loved ones in a way that monetary donations and stem cell research simply cannot. Given the roadblocks to stem cell research imposed by the Bush administration as of late, this is a way you can still help science that would otherwise be overshadowed by stem cell research. Before effective medicines and techniques can truely work, we have to know exactly what we are working on first. We can let pharmecutical companies blindly try different drugs with severe side effects, or we can learn to crawl before we walk. Many scientific papers have been produced from our work so far, and if you've been listening to the news lately and hearing now and then "protein folding research" you can bet most of the results are from Folding@Home. Very recently, it has been announced that the results F@H has produced can also be applied to creating the first-ever "nanomachines", man-made machines on a microscopic scale that could prove invaluable for the future of all branches of science.

The software is easy to set up, and very configurable for everyone's computer skill level. The screensaver version waits until your computer is idle (like a screensaver should!) before starting, making a pictoral representation of the particular protein it is working on. The graphical version is similar to the screensaver version in that it waits until your computer is idle, but gives you the option to completely start or stop the program at your convenience. Last but not least, the console version is just a command-line interface but don't be fooled. Why waste valuable CPU cycles watching the software draw the protein when they can be better-used crunching the numbers in the folding program? The console version has more advanced settings, as well as the option to start the program as a Windows service, so it runs in the background and you never even know it's there. If you are like me and leave your PC on anyway, you should consider joining the project.

A world-wide points competition arose from the research and has been the greatest thing to help spread the popularity of F@H. I personally have 2 modern (fast) PCs, mine and my wife's, and I have built 3 others from leftover parts. All of which run F@H 24/7. I have received no complaints from my wife about her computer's performance suffering from the F@H service. Other people have a dozen or more personal computers dedicated only to F@H. Why would anyone go to such lengths with no monetary compensation? My family has a history of cancer, Diabetes, Alzheimer's and other ailments that can be potentially cured by the research I contribute to. So now the question is more like, "Why wouldn't I participate?" Here's a couple links so you can learn more:

Stanford University's Folding@Home official website:
http://folding.stanford.edu/

Everything you wanted to know about F@H, at Abit-USA Folding Team forum:
http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?t=70934

The Abit-Wolves Team #13285 official forum:
http://www.abit-wolves.com/index.php

I hope I haven't misled anyone, I'm just a carpenter, not a scientist. But my enthusiasm for the project shows, and a lot of learning can be gained by anyone involved. I truly hope you consider joining this cause. I would love to see you at either the Abit-USA Folding forum or the Abit-Wolves forum, but honestly, if I knew that this post got more people involved in F@H I would be happy with that, whether or not you want to be a member of the Wolf Pack! But we do try very hard to help everyone who comes to us with folding questions. If you yourself don't want to participate but think you know someone who would, please point them to this thread! God be with you and your families, and pray for those who need peace in their lives today. And of course, thank you very much for the time you took to read my post. I hope you agree it wasn't wasted time. Have a great day!

-Curt AKA C4O

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 25, 2007 05:42 PM: Message edited by: crazy4offroad ]</font>

[crazy4offroad]

<font size="8">*BUMP!!!*</font>
C'mon! Someone post something! This place aint dead! Is it?? [img]graemlins/whatever.gif[/img]

[Michael J. Fox]

Thanks....I appreciate this.

[crazy4offroad]

Thanks for the reply! Even if you're not the real MJF, which the jury is still out on that one! [img]graemlins/wonder.gif[/img] But if you are, I'd like to say I'm a big fan of your work. One of the greatest gifts in the world someone can give is making them smile, especially when they don't feel like it. You've become a master at the art and still make me laugh, which is something they've found recently helps lower blood pressure (something I have to deal with). If I can only relay one message to you, it would be the importance of this research to me and my family. If you or anyone else have any questions about the details of the project, I would be happy to address them. Have a great Thursday!

[crazy4offroad]

Hello folks, just thought I would give my thread a little bump with some new news on the protein folding front!

Those of you with high-end gaming rigs will be happy to know Stanford has developed folding software that can utilize the ATI x1900 series graphics cards to perform the calculations related to protein folding simulation. More can be read on the subject HERE.

On that same page, News of the upcoming Playstation 3 folding application can be found. This is especially exciting because of the cell core architecture of the PS3's CPU which will allow unprecidented calculating speed, far exceeding the capabilities of the modern PC.

On a side note, Intel's Core 2 Duo, also known as the Conroe, is really strutting it's stuff in the folding world, producing nearly double the production of even the fastest 9xx series Presler processors. If you're looking to upgrade your system any time soon I highly recommend researching the Conroe as the base for your next system.

Well that's all I have to report for now, if you would like more information on any of the above stories come discuss them at length at either the Universal Abit-USA Folding Forum or our very own Abit-Wolves Folding Forum, also known as The Den. Have a great wednesday! [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 25, 2007 05:41 PM: Message edited by: crazy4offroad ]</font>