Using the CPU power and communications abilities of unattended desktop computers throughout the world, the Folding @ Home project studies protein folding and misfolding. In this method of computer processing, known as distributed computing, different parts of a computer program run simultaneously on two or more computers that are communicating with each other over a network. By harnessing the power of many machines, researchers are able to analyze far more data than they might have been able to do so otherwise. Indeed, Folding@home has recently been acknowledged as the most powerful computer cluster on earth, exceeding a petaflop in performance. The Folding @ Home project runs on any modern computer, including Playstation 3s, and runs only when the computer is otherwise not being used.
Join Professor Vijay S. Pande (Chemistry and Structural Biology) as he details the general history and methodology behind the distributed computing model, how this is a paradigm shift from the mainframe/supercomputer model, and how the Folding @ Home project utilizes this novel technique.