Despite all the efforts of modern medicine many diseases such as cancer and Altzheimer's dissease continue to riddle even our most advanced and best methods of treatment. Solving these problems and curing these diseases remains a lofty goal -- but there is a way you can help just by donating some of your computer's processing power.
The Folding Project at Stanford takes advantage of distributed computing (breaking up complex tasks among millions of computers using the Internet) to greater understand the complexities of protein folding.
The science is a bit complicated but very simplified proteins are the building blocks of life. "Folding" is the process by which proteins for more complex molecules (such as enzymes and antibodies) are formed. The process happens amazingly quickly and it takes an average computer about a day just to simulate the amount of protein folding that takes place in 1 nanosecond!
But when the engineers at Stanford link millions of computers across the planet they can harness enough power to simulate folding at a much faster pace -- speeding along the cures for cancer and other deadly diseases.
If you'd like to get involved and feel good about helping a good cause vist the Stanford Folding Projects's website and start folding today!
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