Folding@Home - PS3 Helping in the battle against cancer and other diseases

[TheApprentice]

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today (March 17th) announced that PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment systems will have the capability to connect to Stanford University's Folding@home program, a distributed computing project aimed at understanding protein folding, misfolding and related diseases. Folding@home is leveraging PS3's powerful Cell Broadband Engine™ (Cell/B.E.) – and what will be an even more powerful distributed supercomputing network of PS3 systems – to help study the causes of diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cystic fibrosis and many cancers.



Because the process of folding proteins is so complex, computers are used to perform simulations to study the process. Since these simulations can take up to 30 years for a single computer to complete, Folding@home enables this task to be shared among thousands of computers connected via the network, utilizing distributed computing technology. Once the data is processed, the information is sent back via the Internet to the central computer.

The Cell/B.E. processor inside each PS3 is roughly 10 times faster than a standard mainstream chip inside a personal computer (PC), so researchers are able to perform the simulations much faster, speeding up the research process.



"Millions of users have experienced the power of PS3 entertainment. Now they can utilize that exceptional computing power to help fight diseases," said Masayuki Chatani, Corporate Executive and CTO Computer, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "In order to study protein folding, researchers need more than just one super computer, but the massive processing power of thousands of networked computers. Previously, PCs have been the only option for scientists, but now, they have a new, more powerful tool—PS3."

"We're thrilled to have SCE be part of the Folding@home project," said Vijay Pande, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home project lead. "With PS3 now part of our network, we will be able to address questions previously considered impossible to tackle computationally, with the goal of finding cures to some of the world's most life-threatening diseases."



With the latest system software update expected to become available at the end of March, the Folding@home icon will be added to the Network menu of the XMB™ (XrossMediaBar). PS3 users can join the program by simply clicking on the Folding@home icon or can optionally set the application to run automatically whenever PS3 is idle (*1).


Starting with Folding@home, SCE will continue to support distributed computing projects in a wide variety of academic fields such as medical and social sciences and environmental studies throughout the use of PS3 and hopes to contribute to the advancement of science.

For more info on Folding@home go to http://www.scei.co.jp/folding/en .


(*1) To run the application automatically in idle state, PS3 must be connected to the network with both the main power switch and power button turned on. Option setting must also be changed as this automatic feature is off at default.

[TheApprentice]

It's only been a little more than two days (March 23rd) since the software was introduced, but the PS3's entry into Folding@Home has already moved Stanford's distributed computing project forward by leaps and bounds. As of approximately 4:00 PM EST, the latest statistics on the project have shown that PS3 users are contributing 367 Tera (trillion) FLoating point Operations Per Second (TFLOPS), which is currently more than twice the amount of all of the other operating systems participating in the project combined. And that number is growing rapidly, as Kotaku originally reported that PS3 users had contributed only 251 TFLOPS as of 8:00 AM EST this morning.

A FLOPS is a unit that measures the number of calculations a computer can execute at one time, which is thereby a means of judging a computer's performance. According to the statistics page, there are currently 159198 Windows PCs that are actively participating in the project, and those combined processors have reached a total of 151 TFLOPS. By comparison, the number of active PS3 machines totals only 14971, but the combined power of PS3 consoles is already contributing more than half of the 616 total TFLOPS that are currently being devoted to the project. Both Stanford and Sony are expecting the PS3 to push the project into the PFLOPS scale, with one PFLOPS equaling that of 1000 TFLOPS, or 1 quadrillion FLOPS.

The PS3's success in the program has also sparked a recent string of activism, with gaming blog PS3 Fanboy organizing a "fold-a-thon", requesting that all PS3 users leave their units on overnight this coming Sunday.

Folding@Home is a project initiated by Stanford University in an effort to study the folding and misfolding of proteins, and will be used towards the research and curing of numerous diseases, including Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, Huntington's Disease, and numerous forms of cancer. GamePro will be providing you with much more information regarding the Folding@Home project in the very near future, so stay tuned.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
SEE THE CURRENT STATISTICS @ THE FOLLOWING LINK... AND BE AMAZED AT THE PS3'S CELL POWER!
http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=osstats

From what I've read on some forums... People have already seen the PS3 push the flops to Peta already...

[W1nTry]

UPdate:

PS3 crowned king of folding at home

No flop

By INQUIRER newsdesk: Monday 26 March 2007, 13:03
Click Here
ACCORDING TO SOME FIGURES on the Stanford Folding@home pages, the Sony PS3 is making mincemeat of all the other types of "computer" involved in the project.

The page here shows 30,915 PS3 CPUs as responsible for 492 TFLOPS of processing.

In comparison, some 162,197 Windows PCs manage some 154 TFLOPS of calculations.

The site measures TFLOPS as the actual teraflops from the software cores, "not the peak values from CPU/GPU/PS3 specs" and notes that Active PS3s are defined as those which have returned WUs within two days.

Perhaps there's something in the claims for that new-fangled Cell chippery after all. µ

[Crixx_Creww]

but yu know wat is the most surprising thing that this article has highlighted?

the combined total number of pcs + ps3s working on this super important project is less than 200 thousand?? thats so sad!!!!

i think gaming companies and organisations and stuff should do alot more to promote this project, i mean, there are millions of pc gamers across teh world, and alot of them have gaming rigs. i mean of the millions that are pc gamers, i dont think it would be bold of me to say that there are atleast a million gamers with high end machines and an internet connection to contribute to the project..

i for one, leave my pc on 24/7 and my dsl is also on 24/7. i think iam gonna hook up all my pcs and laptop to the net and make my contribution...

I urge those of u withthe requisite hardware to make ur contributions also...
i know torrents suck bw and memory, but, i mean the folding doesnt need that much, so while your out at school and work, and yur dls are going, leave the folding going as well nah..

[Nephilim]

well these guys weened on the PS1 eh...

i here what yuh saying though, i go hook up the PCs and them, either way seti letting me down...was looking for something else to take it over...

[Crixx_Creww]

sweet @ the 300 sig too and yay at setting up the pcs


i mean there are no doubt at least (being conservative) a billion pcs in existence.

its ridiculous to have only about 170 000 contributing to a project like this


and let me reiterate that you are being ridiculous with the claim that the ps3 is significantly helping to cure cancer especially since peopel close to me have died cancer, to read some one might actually think that the ps3 is in ANY WAY speeding up curing cancer is laughable.

[TheApprentice]

I added significantly to the title...

Because if you watch de statistics the Cell Broadband Engine is SIGNIFICANTLY increasing progress...

Also they load up PS3's with 5,000,000 Work Units to chomp on... and it does so in 8hrs...

Whilst with a PC it takes 2 days to process 400,000 units....

I know this cuz i run this on my dual core pc as well as my PS3....

For all I care..the PS3 is speeding up the Research process and bringing the war on cancer to a faster end...

And what... There are many upon many fanboys around... I own a PS3 console.. and becuz I happy I own it... I can't back it up a little

[Crixx_Creww]

my first post is dedicated to wanting more support for the folding at home project and iam going to do more to promote it, so i am doing that, you should have read more carefully.

Second, if you had said it is significantly helping the folding project or speeding up research in the folding project that would have been fine. The folding project is NOT going to cure cancer!! you do know that right??

what the research is going to do, is give more insight into why cancer and other diseases have such large impacts on proteins.
THis research will then help them create a system to combat and eventually cure diseases.

BUT the ACTUAL FOLDING PROGRAM!! IS NOT GOING TO CURE CANCER!!
thats why yur claim is so damn infuriating!!!

and i SPECIFICALLY DIDNT ALTER THE NAME OF THE POST CAUSE I WANTED YOUUUU TO DO IT!!!
Don't make this project about the playstation bigger than it actually is...

[W1nTry]

Yeah I EDITING the past few posts and for good reason. No need to be at each others throats over this pplz. It's obviously a touchy subject to crixx and i'll leave it at that since I know nothing more of the matter (though I too have seen many die b/c of cancer, some close, others not so close). We appreciate that this was an attempt to highlight another positive of a gaming console to aid in matters beyond gaming. But let's not let sensationalism make matters more than they are. Its a good step in a good direction and let's hope more users and console makers move towards this ends. Let's all get along ppl!!!! oh and btw I WILL EDIT THE TITLE TOO and save anyone from doing anything they think is against their will by means of suggestion or otherwise.

[TheApprentice]

BUT TO CLAIM THAT THE FLIKKIN PS3 IS SIGNIFICANTLY HELPING TO CURE CANCER!!! are you insane???

BUT the ACTUAL FOLDING PROGRAM!! IS NOT GOING TO CURE CANCER!!

Of course I know that the program is not gonna cure cancer...(but it will lead to... thus the ps3 is significantly (imho) "HELPING")

+ Its a headline title... Do you read news? Its a line to attract attention to the topic....

what the research is going to do, is give more insight into why cancer and other diseases have such large impacts on proteins.
THis research will then help them create a system to combat and eventually cure diseases.

Exactly... You contradicting your argument... This research eventually leads to the sure of the disease/diseases....


Thus again.. The PS3 is significantly helping to cure cancer...
It doesn't mean NOW... But Eventually...


Dude.. take it down a notch... If you disagree with something.. you don't need to behave in the topic as we've seen...and insult your members...

I administrate a forum..and though it isn;t as big as this one... I don;t act like you...

You not getting anywhere with your point... (I appreaciate your support of the program)

[TheApprentice]

W1nTry at least you have some self respect...
Respectable post...

[New Era Outlaw]

Crixx, for God's sakes, stop trolling the damn thread.

He never said anything about PS3 curing cancer, and neither does the article. He's just posting up some new developments regarding the PS3 and its assistance in cancer research, and I'm sure the last thing everybody needs is for somebody to go "OMG!!! PS3 NOT CURING CANCER ARARARARA!!!" all over the place.

As much as I sympathise with what has happened, jumping down the throat of a forumite like that is not appropriate behaviour, at all.

That's not what this thread is about, so don't turn it into one.

[TheApprentice]

Neither Stanford nor Sony had been able to foretell the amazing success tied to the PS3 adaptation of Folding@home, Stanford's distributed computing project. But along with their announcement today, they also have the numbers to prove it.



According to figures released by Stanford's internal F@h data, more than 250,000 unique PS3 users have registered to use Folding@home. And since the project officially went live on March 23rd, a little less than 100,000 PS3s have submitted an entire work unit of protein data. As for processing power, PS3 users are providing nearly 400 teraflops at this very moment, which makes up the majority of the 700 teraflops currently being delivered by all OS CPUs combined.

Furthermore, the addition of the PS3 to Folding@home has influenced a new wave of PC users to join the project. Since the PS3 was implemented into the program, the number of active PCs has increased by 20%.

"The PS3 turnout has been amazing, greatly exceeding our expectations and allowing us to push our work dramatically forward," said Professor Vijay Pande, the leader of the Folding@home project. "Thanks to PS3, we have performed simulations in the first few weeks that would normally take us more than a year to calculate. We are now gearing up for new simulations that will continue our current studies of Alzheimer's and other diseases."

Sony has chosen to further enhance the success of the program by releasing an upgraded version of the Folding@home client in time for their weekly software update. This Thursday, Folding@home version 1.1 will be made available, which will improve processing speeds, allowing users to complete their work units in an even shorter amount of time. The update will also allow for "increased visibility of user location on the globe" (based on IP address), as well as the added ability of creating longer names for donors and user teams.

To initiate the update, users will simply need to start up the Folding@home program on or after April 26th.



^
Sweet! I know I will be updating...

[W1nTry]

Hmm I think crixx may have to eat some of his words now...

[TheApprentice]

Vijay Pande, creator of the Folding@home project, which harnesses the power of networked Playstation3s across the world to carry out essential research into Alzheimer's Disease, has revealed to Pro-G that the 360 is of limited help to his work.

After being asked if he thought the power of the 360 could be useful, he said: "Possibly, although the cell processor in the PS3 is much more powerful for our calculations than the CPU in the Xbox 360."

Giving details of how the power of the Playstation3 was useful to his research, Pande explained: "We are simulating key processes in protein folding and misfolding in Alzheimer's Disease. PS3's are performing aspects of these simulations, and doing so about 20 times faster than a typical PC."

The program has seen a strong uptake by PS3 owners with more than 250,000 unique users having registered, delivering nearly 400 teraflops of computing power. Total computing power at a single moment is now recorded at 700 teraflops, more than double the capacity of the network before PlayStation 3 joined the program.

There is still no word on any plans for the folding@home project to embrace the Xbox 360, but we're sure that many Xbox 360 owners would be more than willing to help out such a good cause.

[W1nTry]

I have to wonder how much of Sony's marketing money was paid out for him to suggest that the 360 would be of limited help. At the end of the day help is help to make a suggestion like that imho sounds bordering fanboyism. Let's face it there are 3 cores inside the 360 and they are of the PowerPC variant. There are PowerPC machines running on MacOS and OS X which contribute to the FAH project. To reject further help is just plain stupid and shows some sort of arrogance. Otherwise as I said.. I wonder how much marketing money he got for it...

[TheApprentice]

I have to wonder how much of Sony's marketing money was paid out for him to suggest that the 360 would be of limited help. At the end of the day help is help to make a suggestion like that imho sounds bordering fanboyism. Let's face it there are 3 cores inside the 360 and they are of the PowerPC variant. There are PowerPC machines running on MacOS and OS X which contribute to the FAH project. To reject further help is just plain stupid and shows some sort of arrogance. Otherwise as I said.. I wonder how much marketing money he got for it...

Yea..as much as I support Sony and the program...

I find it odd that he would say such a thing...
So no doubt he get paid for that one...

But hopefully it will come to the box soon...