Folding@home is a distributed computing project focused on disease research. The problems they are solving require so many computer calculations – and they need our help to find the cures!
Folding@home just added COVID-19 (in addition of cancer, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s) to the list of diseases they are fighting. The project is joining researchers around the world who are working to better understand the Coronavirus to accelerate the open science effort to develop new life-saving therapies.
You can donate your unused computer power to that project, from the comfort of your house, by downloading the Folding@home application. You can also join the Serve the City Team (ID 247158).
Help us in the fight against COVID-19! Download the app at: https://t.co/andJ4PDzVl #Coronavirus #2019nCov #COVID19 #SARSCoV2 https://t.co/BSmiV8phh1
— Folding@home (@foldingathome) February 27, 2020
How to start folding
Before you download the Folding@home client, be aware that it will use a lot of your CPU power, so it is better to let it run when you are not using the computer.
- Open a new browser tab and go to https://foldingathome.org/start-folding
- Download the installer for your system
- Launch the installation (it differs depending if you are using Windows, MacOS or Linux), you might be prompt your admin username and password
- Once the installation is complete, ignore the pages that it opens for now, and launch the FAHControl app
- The first time you launch the software, you will receive a warning that the client hasn’t been assigned an identity. You can either decide to Fold Anonymously or to Configure an Identity. If you decide to create an identity, it ensures that the points you earn folding are credited to you. You can also join Serve the City’s team (ID 247158). Go to Configure > Identity.
- To ensure your CPU is used to fight COVID-19, go to Configure > Advanced and select Any in the Causes pick list. The project is prioritising the COVID-19 in the Any category
- Click Save
You can used the Viewer button to see the molecules your computer is analysing.