The program simply runs in the background, using spare CPU to run simulations of coronavirus proteins. Folding@home Director Greg Bowman, who’s also a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, gives a rough explanation of how it works in this blog post. Viruses use proteins, “molecular machines”, to suppress our immune systems and reproduce. Bowman explains that other approaches to modelling these proteins “only reveal a single snapshot of a protein’s usual shape”, whereas simulations can give you a moving picture. The goal is to accurately model how the atoms move within the virus’s protein structure. “Doing so can reveal new therapeutic opportunities”, Bowman says. He compares each download to buying a lottery ticket. The more simulations they run, the more likely they are to stumble on something useful. Right now, too many people are chipping in for their servers to handle, so he warns that there will be intermittent downtime. You can download the software here. Many gaming events have been cancelled or postponed due to Covid-19, including our dear own Rezzed. Here’s a helpful list of every event we know has been affected.
