Genome@home

Genome@home is a distributed computing project that focuses on the analysis and prediction of protein structures. It was launched in February 2001 by the Pande Lab at Stanford University and was retired in 2004. The project's main goal was to understand the process of protein folding and misfolding, which is crucial in the development of diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and many forms of cancer.

Overview

Genome@home was a sister project to Folding@home, another distributed computing project by the Pande Lab. While Folding@home focused on simulating protein folding, Genome@home aimed to design new proteins and predict their structures. The project used the spare processing power of volunteers' computers to perform these complex calculations.

Methodology

The project used a software called Folding@home to simulate the process of protein folding. This software uses a method called molecular dynamics to simulate the physical movements of atoms and molecules. The simulations provided insights into how proteins fold into their functional, three-dimensional structures, and how they might misfold, leading to disease.

Impact and Legacy

Despite its relatively short lifespan, Genome@home made significant contributions to the field of bioinformatics and structural biology. The data generated by the project has been used in numerous scientific publications. The project also paved the way for other distributed computing projects in the field of life sciences.

See Also

• Folding@home
• Rosetta@home
• List of distributed computing projects