MarvelOfMoldingMuck.multiply.com : @REALUPHUMAN.NET : Viewing History For Entire Site : Jan 17 2007 21:00
James M. Driskill
@REALUPHUMAN.NET's Site
|
Why not ACT in the SCIENCE while YOUR COMPUTER is just sitting IDLE doing nothing ELSE USEFUL?
UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program
on HIV/AIDS, estimated that in 2004 there were more than 40
million people around the world living with HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
The virus has affected the lives of men, women and children all over the world.
Currently, there is no cure in sight, only treatment with a variety of
drugs.
Prof.
Arthur J. Olson's laboratory at
The Scripps Research
Institute (TSRI) is studying
computational ways to design new anti-HIV drugs based on molecular structure. It
has been demonstrated repeatedly that the function of a molecule — a substance
made up of many atoms — is related to its three-dimensional shape. Olson's
target is HIV protease ("pro-tee-ace"), a key molecular machine of the virus
that when blocked stops the virus from maturing. These blockers, known as
"protease inhibitors", are thus a way of avoiding the onset of AIDS and
prolonging life.
Even more challenging, HIV is a
"sloppy copier," so it is constantly evolving new variants, some of which are
resistant to current drugs. It is therefore vital that scientists continue their
search for new and better drugs to combat this moving target. [View More]
See Also: Distributed Computing Projects
- Climateprediction.net: study climate change
- Einstein @ home: search for gravitational signals coming from pulsars
- LHC @ home: improve the design of the CERN LHC particle accelerator
- Predictor @ home: investigate protein-related diseases
- SETI @ home: Look for radio evidence of extraterrestrial life
More future projects to come. Keep informed if you dont like any of these!