I found this site which studies protein folding http://folding.stanford.edu/.
This is not a site that tell us everything about protein. But rather it is a site for distributed computing project on protein folding, known as Folding@home. Folding@home uses novel computational methods coupled to distributed computing, to simulate problems millions of times more challenging than previously achieved. This sites is for people from throughout the world download and run software to band together to make one of the largest supercomputers in the world. Below are some information on protein folding.
What are proteins?
Proteins are necklaces of amino acids — long chain molecules. Proteins are the basis of how biology gets things done. As enzymes, they are the driving force behind all of the biochemical reactions which make biology work. As structural elements, they are the main constituent of our bones, muscles, hair, skin and blood vessels. As antibodies, they recognize invading elements and allow the immune system to get rid of the unwanted invaders.
Why do proteins “fold”?
However, only knowing this sequence tells us little about what the protein does and how it does it. In order to carry out their function (eg as enzymes or antibodies), they must take on a particular shape, also known as a “fold.” Thus, proteins are truly amazing machines: before they do their work, they assemble themselves! This self-assembly is called “folding.”
Why is protein folding so difficult to understand?
It’s amazing that not only do proteins self-assemble — fold — but they do so amazingly quickly: some as fast as a millionth of a second. While this time is very fast on a person’s timescale, it’s remarkably long for computers to simulate. In fact, it takes about a day to simulate a nanosecond (1/1,000,000,000 of a second). Unfortunately, proteins fold on the tens of microsecond timescale (10,000 nanoseconds). Thus, it would take 10,000 CPU days to simulate folding — i.e. it would take 30 CPU years! That’s a long time to wait for one result!
The solution is to use new distributed computing algorithms to simulate what wouldn’t be possible before. In this site, you can download the software for participating in this meaningful project.
Posted by mingliang | Tags: amino acids, enzymes, protein, protein foliding, stanford |