Folding@Home: Collaborative Efforts for Disease Research

Do you know that you can help scientists on finding cures for certain diseases by just installing a software on your computer?

Contributors from different industries around the world produced a computing project named Folding@Home (F@H) that aims to provide quick assistance to disease research. The project found out how multiple computing units can contribute to finding cure to pre- and emerging diseases by running a computer software in the background.

Protein folding & the emergence of F@H

Proteins are complex molecules that regulate certain metabolic functions, such as the regulation of structure, function and homeostasis within the organs and tissues of the body. These molecules assemble themselves by “folding.”

In disease research, protein misfolding correlates to serious health consequences, such as cancer and Alzeimer’s disease. Simulating protein folding is a challenging process, and it requires a huge amount of processing work from supercomputers. Additionally, processes in protein folding may occur in a millionth of a second. Most of the current supercomputers used to analyze proteins cannot easily capture misfoldings resulting in slower processes in analyzing emerging diseases.

In October 2000, the chemistry department of Stanford University, California, USA launched the project called Folding@Home (F@H) which sought to understand protein self-organization & misfolding. The idea behind the project lies in the division of work between multiple computers, increasing processing power, thus speeding up the process for simulation protein folding.

This project splits complex protein power computer modelling to millions of computers worldwide. Even if the program runs in the background, it contributes to the project’s computational power, thus providing opportunity for researchers to further study certain diseases. In simpler terms, a volunteer can download the program, run it in background and participate in providing computing units to supercomputers.

Fighting COVID-19

Research laboratories around the world use Folding@Home to simulate protein dynamics in studying a variety of diseases. This helps scientists better understand the biology and therapeutics concerning diseases, such as COVID-19.

In a coronavirus, exploring its spike’s folding (spikes are proteins on the surface of coronaviruses) is the key to understanding how certain molecules can inhibit or fit into certain areas in spike folding, mitigating viral infection. Studied by drug researchers, drugs are designed to be suitable and effective on inhibiting these areas.

Biochemist Greg Bowman, the director of Folding@Home project, called these areas of target as “cryptic pockets.” He said that these pockets grab ACE2 human cells, leading to human infections. Understanding surfaces of spike proteins can lead into designing better drugs to stop the virus from replicating into the body.

"If you tried to simulate the opening of the spike on your home computer, you'd be lucky to see even part of the process within the next 100 years," said Bowman.

In these challenging times, everyone is expected to stay at home. Under the new normal, adjustments are needed to eradicate COVID-19. Through Folding@Home’s benefits, these small efforts can help scientists further learn and create treatment against COVID-19.

You may read Folding@Home’s progress through visiting their website at foldingathome.org . On the same link, you can download their software and start helping our scientists into finding treatment for emerging diseases around the world.