Herpesviridae is incredibly efficient at infecting humans and has evolved over time to adapt to any human defenses posed to it. It is a dangerous virus that burdens millions of people and, unfortunately, there is still not a cure. In order to find a cure for this adaptable, evolving disease research efforts must be bolstered and combined in new innovative ways. One of these ways is grid computing. It allows scientists from around the world to harness the computing power of thousands of computers to analyze and compare mass amounts of data on protein folding. The manner in which Herpes viral proteins fold determines their individual actions. The virus itself is made up of thousands of proteins and their actions determine how the virus infects and replicates. If the specific folding of each protein is determined, medicines can be developed to interrupt their actions. Grid computing will allow for this. This collaboration effort will move Herpesviridae research towards more effective treatments and eventually a cure.
Our group has realized the importance of grid computing and contributed to the effort by joining to the Rosetta@home grid computing project powered by BOINC. Over the last few months we have contributed 17,432 points by joining the grid.
