• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Cracking a Tough AIDS Research Puzzle: Boffins 0, US Gamers 1. Rock On!

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
An AIDS protein folding puzzle has stumped scientists for a decade, but US gamers cracked it in a mere three weeks! This was achieved by combining the brute force logic and speed of the digital computer, with the lateral thinking of the distinctly fuzzy human brain. To achieve this, a distributed computing application called Foldit was used, which involved gamers solving individual puzzles in a competitive atmosphere. This amazing merger of minds and machine over the internet creates a sort of distributed "cybernetic organism", which combines the strengths of biological and silicon computers into something far more powerful than either alone.





The puzzles are that of protein folding, which is highly complex. So much so in fact, that even supercomputers find them tough to chew through, which is why the Stanford Folding@Home project was started a decade ago. The application transforms science problems into three dimensional puzzle challenges for gamers to solve. Within days, a workable model emerged from the challenges, which the boffins scientists were able to refine further into an accurate model of the enzyme's structure. This knowledge opens doors for scientists to design drugs that are effective at stopping HIV from multiplying.

Seth Cooper, a co-creator of Foldit, said:


People have spatial reasoning skills, something computers are not yet good at. Games provide a framework for bringing together the strengths of computers and humans. The results in this week's paper show that gaming, science and computation can be combined to make advances that were not possible before.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 

Bow

Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
3,061 (0.53/day)
Location
South of Planet Earth
System Name SLOW-MO-SHUN III
Processor AMD RYZEN 9 7950X 4.5ghz 16 Core
Motherboard MSI MPG X670E Carbon wifi
Cooling Quench 360 Liquid Cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR 5-5200
Video Card(s) NVidia GeForce RTX 3090 24 GB GDDR6X
Storage 1TB Kingston NV2 M.2 SSD 2TB 2.5 SanDisk SSD Plus
Display(s) Asus 28" VP28UQG 4K 3840x2160
Case Athena M1, 6 Chassis Fans
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply EVGA Super Nova 1000W
Mouse Razer Deathadder
Keyboard Razer Ornata
Software Windows 10 Home 64-Bit
I saw this yesterday :rockout:
 

BUCK NASTY

4P Enthusiust
Joined
Aug 8, 2007
Messages
4,974 (0.82/day)
Location
Port St Lucie, FL. U.S.A.
System Name Main Rig
Processor AMD FX-4130 @ 4.8Ghz
Motherboard ASUS M5A99X Evo
Cooling Coolermaster Hyper 212+
Memory 8GB GSkill DDR3 1600
Video Card(s) ASUS GTX 970 Strix @ 1503Mhz Core
Storage Corsair Force 90gb SSD/ WD Caviar Blue 750gb
Display(s) ASUS 24" IPS
Case Coolermaster Centurion 590
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Antec TP750 80+
Software Windows 7 Ultimate 64
Ah, folding at it's best! This is what we do it for guy's!!!!

:toast::toast::toast:
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Ah, folding at it's best! This is what we do it for guy's!!!!

:toast::toast::toast:

I really wanted to add a poll to this, but I don't have the permissions on news threads. :(

I want to ask if TPU members want to start a project like this, much like we have F@H and WCG. I reckon it would rock. :rockout:
 
Joined
May 21, 2008
Messages
966 (0.17/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Motherboard MSI MAG X570S Tomahawk Max WiFi
Cooling EK Supremacy EVO Elite + EK D5 + EK 420 Rad, TT Toughfan 140x3, TT Toughfan 120x2, Arctic slim 120
Memory 32GB GSkill DDR4-3600 (F4-3600C16-8GVKC)
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Radeon RX 7900XTX Gaming OC
Storage WDBlack SN850X 4TB, Samsung 950Pro 512GB, Samsung 850EVO 500GB, 6TB WDRed, 36TB NAS, 8TB Lancache
Display(s) Benq XL2730Z (1440P 144Hz, TN, Freesync) & 2x ASUS VE248
Case Corsair Obsidian 750D
Audio Device(s) Topping D50S + THX AAA 789, TH-X00 w/ V-Moda Boompro; 7Hz Timeless
Power Supply Corsair HX1000i
Mouse Sharkoon Fireglider optical
Keyboard Corsair K95 RGB
Software Windows 11 Pro
A much better way to access the untapped potential of human resource present in computer games than in-game ads.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
A much better way to access the untapped potential of human resource present in computer games than in-game ads.

Oh god yes. Well put.
 
Joined
Mar 27, 2008
Messages
697 (0.12/day)
Location
Zagreb, Croatia
Processor C2D E8400@3.9GHz (488x8, 1.4v :( )
Motherboard Abit IP35-E
Cooling Thermaltake Sonic Tower+120mm fan
Memory 2GB kingmax ddr1066@976MHz 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s) Radeon X1800GTO @700/1400MHz with Accelero S1+Glacialtech fancard
Storage 2xSeagate Barracuda 7200.10 160GB
Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster 793s... just you laugh...
Case some Aplus case
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC888
Power Supply Chieftec 450W
Software Win7 x64
this means that some diseases could quite literally get PWNT. :nutkick:
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Messages
42 (0.01/day)
Processor Intel Core i7-4820K Ivy Bridge-E
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4
Cooling Thermaltake Extreme 2.0
Memory G.SKILL 8x4GB RAM
Video Card(s) (2) EVGA Geforce GTX 770 Superclocked
Storage (2) OCZ Vertex 4 256GB, (2) Western Digital Black 1TB
Display(s) Dell U3014 Ultrasharp Monitor
Case Cooler Master Cosmos 2
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional
Power Supply Corsair AX1200
Software Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit Operating System
Re:

I heard about this 2 days ago.....PC Gamers Rules!!!!!
 

hat

Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 20, 2006
Messages
21,731 (3.43/day)
Location
Ohio
System Name Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory 4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s) PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s) Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores >9000
So folding@home did indeed contribute to this, then?
 
Joined
Nov 13, 2009
Messages
5,614 (1.07/day)
Location
San Diego, CA
System Name White Boy
Processor Core i7 3770k @4.6 Ghz
Motherboard ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe
Cooling CORSAIR H100
Memory CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB @ 2177
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 CLASSIEFIED @ 1250 Core
Storage 2 Samsung 830 256 GB (Raid 0) 1 Hitachi 4 TB
Display(s) 1 Dell 30U11 30"
Case BIT FENIX Prodigy
Audio Device(s) none
Power Supply SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W Modular
Software Windows Pro 7 64 bit || Ubuntu 64 Bit
Benchmark Scores 2017 Unigine Heaven :: P37239 3D Mark Vantage
Now if only more people would get behind distributed computing think how much progress we could make.
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
this one wasnt actually folding@home, it was a game that got humans to do the same work via a 3D game instead of pure math.
 
Joined
Mar 30, 2011
Messages
957 (0.20/day)
System Name Better than before
Processor 10400
Motherboard B460 Pro4
Cooling Id-Cooling 224
Memory 16 GB
Video Card(s) 1650 Super
Storage Swordfish 500 GB
Display(s) AOC G2
Case Coolermaster Ammo 533
Audio Device(s) Micca MB42X
Power Supply Pure Power 11
Mouse G403
Keyboard Sidewinder x4
Software Windows 10 (ugh)
Joined
May 21, 2008
Messages
4,113 (0.71/day)
Location
Iowa, USA
System Name THE CUBE 2.0
Processor Intel i5 13600k
Motherboard MSI MPG Z690 EDGE DDR4
Cooling Phanteks PH-TC14PE BK 2x T30-120 Fan mod mount
Memory G.Skill TridentZ 3200 MT/s C15 32GB 2x16GB
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Aorus 1080 Ti 11GB OC: Core 2GHz, Mem 5.7GHz
Storage WD SN770 250GB / 3x WD SN850X 2TB / Toshiba X300 4TB / 2x RAID1 Toshiba P300 3TB
Display(s) Samsung 49" Odyssey OLED G95SC 240Hz 5120 x 1440
Case "THE CUBE" Custom built, pure Red Alder wood
Audio Device(s) Beyerdynamic DT 880
Power Supply Corsair RM1000X
Mouse Logitech G700
Keyboard Logitech G910
Software Windows 11 Pro
Foldit is so much fun, once I start I can't stop!
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2007
Messages
5,106 (0.83/day)
Location
Kansas
Processor Core i5 3570K
Motherboard AsRock z77 Pro4
Cooling Zalman CNPS10X Extreme
Memory 2x4GB GSkill Sniper
Video Card(s) MSI GTX970 Gaming
Storage 240GB OCZ ARC 100, Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Display(s) LG 23" 1920x1080
Case Antec P100
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Antec Edge 750W
Software Windows 8.1 Pro 64
I wonder if they called AIDS ghey and a n00b after it was finished. :roll:
 

Completely Bonkers

New Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2007
Messages
2,576 (0.41/day)
Processor Mysterious Engineering Prototype
Motherboard Intel 865
Cooling Custom block made in workshop
Memory Corsair XMS 2GB
Video Card(s) FireGL X3-256
Display(s) 1600x1200 SyncMaster x 2 = 3200x1200
Software Windows 2003
Ok, so now I have a valid reason to upgrade my gaming rig? All in the name of science...

DeresiaL, that is a very interesting (educational and inspiring) video http://www.newsytype.com/11536-aids-protein-foldit/. And welcome to TPU.

It is worth the 20minutes to watch that video. Get through the first 3 minutes where your first reaction might just be 'why is this lady wearing a silly dress and awful boots' and you will see she is a smart and interesting academic who has done some research into "gaming communities". Good stuff.
 
Top