UT Dallas - Folding@home

Distributed Computing

Folding@home is a distributed computing project run by Stanford University. People around the globe download and run software to band together and make one of the largest supercomputers in the world to help scientists cure diseases. Your computer can help take the FaH project closer to our goals.

F@H uses novel computational methods coupled to distributed computing, to simulate problems millions of times more challenging than is possible with the computers in one lab.

Protein Folding

Proteins are biology’s workhorses — its “nanomachines.” Before proteins can carry out these important functions, they assemble themselves, or “fold.” The process of protein folding, while fundamental to biology, in many ways remains a mystery.

Moreover, when proteins do not fold correctly (misfold), there can be serious consequences, including well known diseases, such as:

Alzheimer’s	terminal dementia that affects 27 million people worldwide
Mad Cow (BSE)	neurodegenerative disease that causes fatal damage to the brain and spinal cord
CJD	brain disease that is incurable and invariably fatal
ALS	progressive, terminal disease caused by the degeneration of the nerve cells that control muscle movement
Huntington’s	genetic involuntary movement disorder
Parkinson’s	degenerative disease of the central nervous system that impairs motor skills and speech
…and many cancers and cancer-related syndromes

When proteins misfold, they can clump together (aggregate). These clumps can often gather in the brain, where they are believed to cause the symptoms of these terrible diseases. Learn more about protein folding and join us to help find the cures.

Background

The University of Texas at Dallas is located in Richardson, Texas has an enrollment of 15,000 students. The school is known for having the highest SAT scores in the state, a well-ranked Executive MBA program, productive nanotechnology research, a unique Arts & Technology program, and a world champion Chess Team.