Using PS3 idle time to research protein folding diseases

The Folding@home (FAH) initiative, a joint project spearheaded by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) and Stanford University Associate Professor of Chemistry Vijay Pande, will enable PlayStation 3 consoles to assist in medical research …. Pande’s team will use a chain of networked PS3s to seek out information related to protein folding.

Folding@Home protein folding pathIn researching the causes behind Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and various types of cancer, some top scientists have narrowed their research down to the process of protein folding. Misfolds are related to diseases such as the latter, and since protein folding takes place in roughly 10 one-millionths of a second, it takes complex computer simulations to attempt to study the process.

…. The power of the PS3’s Cell processor is significantly faster than the PCs that scientists use. As a result, a network of some 10,000 PS3s can handle a workload that would take nearly 200,000 PCs in other circumstances. What normally takes from five years to a decade for research could be slashed down to a few months. How does it work? Just like other @home programs, FAH uses idle PS3 consoles that are connected to the Internet to simulate and process a protein strand. Stanford uploads one to a PS3, which it begins to work upon. After the strand has been processed, the data goes back to Stanford’s servers. Eventually, with enough systems breaking down data, a scientist can analyze all of the findings at a significantly faster pace than with PCs.

…. For those interested in seeing the process at work, FAH runs a highly detailed visual simulation of a protein strand. The PS3 is able to render strands in several different ways … gamers can zoom in, out, and around each molecule of the protein. In addition, a map of the world can be seen behind the protein strain. Yellow illumination on the map indicates which geographic regions have the most gamers volunteering their PS3’s processing power to aide the project.

Folding@Home

[Sterling McGarvey: GameSpy | March 15, 2007 ]