Folding@Home is a small program that is produced by Stanford University. This program uses spare CPU cycles (instead of buying expensive supercomputers) to do "work units" that analyze how proteins "fold". When a protein misfolds, diseases like cancer, parkinsons, and alzheimers can ensue. Folding@Home's mission is to find cures for these diseases and more! You can help out by visiting the Folding@Home web site (http://folding.stanford.edu/) and downloading Folding@Home. You don't have to give out any personal information other than your name. Just install the program and let your computer fold!
Each work unit you send in earns you points. If you are not folding for a specific team, then your points are sent in to the collective anonymous team. If, on the other hand, you are folding for a specific team, then your points go toward your team's total! There are literally thousands of teams, so competition can be pretty stiff sometimes. The points do not really let you do anything other than brag, so don't be waiting for a prize in the mail. :)
You may be asking, "Steve, why are you telling me all this?" Well, I am part of team number 13392. Our team is called CPUniCycles. This team is made up of unicyclists for the most part. We aren't doing badly at all, but we can always use more people on our team. If you are a unicyclist and you are folding, why not join our team? When you first install the Folding@Home client you will be allowed to configure your settings. Make sure to put 13392 in the team number box. ;)
Thanks for your support! |
