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GoldenTiger
Fully [H]
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
- Messages
- 29,853
Ah, some real light on a valid issue.
Proteins do not get folded over and over again, period. I know this because it used to be a huge gripe of my own so I took the time to look into the facts. Each and every protein that enters and leaves your machine, or dies on your machine has a unique identity. The program on each machine is inherently self checking so if anything pooches a work unit it will first give you an early end or many other possible results. If that protein is not accounted for within a given time then and only then is it recycled so to speak. You do get partial credit for an early end for the most part and that number has been increased as of over a year ago.
As for Bills comments on prostate cancer he is correct. The original test and the one that has been the standard for as long as anyone can remember was the PSA test and the fact is, that test originated from a professor at Stanford. Since then many hospitals have switched over to using a protein test which provides more accurate results as well as being able to show the likely hood of you having the gene set that would be more of less susceptible to getting the disease.
Recently you have all read about or seen the commercial about the vaccine for women to be used to fight the Human Papa Loma virus. A lot of the research that led to the production of the vaccine came from protein folding information.
Protein folding is research into the human genome and there is no telling where that will lead in the big picture.
As a young child I was living through the worst Polio epidemic that had hit this country in many years and frankly it scared the hell out of me. Only after the root cause was found could there be a treatment which is true for every disease. Thankfully right in the middle of it all Dr. Jonas Salk came up with a vaccine for polio. My parents were quick to make sure I got the vaccine and I became one of the lucky ones. Two of my friends died in an Iron Lung breathing device after many years and two more were crippled for life.
Polio was listed among the other popular diseases along side of Small Pox, Black Plague, Diphtheria and a few other noted mass population killers and is now part of the standard immunization package that is prescribed for all infants. I will note here that I said “prescribed” for a reason. Many of you young folks out there never got vaccinated in your youth. As a direct result of that many of those same killing agents have been and probably will be used as weapons because so many are susceptible. No political statement is intended here, it’s a statement of pure fact.
While the intent of this original thread was meant to be positive in the end human nature being what it is many became accusatory and that never leads any where positive.
My whole point is simple, everything has a cure somewhere some day. I don’t run a server farm, I’m just one guy doing what I can for whatever cause and I chose the Folding project as my direction by was of contribution to society as a whole.
My wife and I also contribute to the Salvation Army because I know 97% of what we give will go where we specify. Not one other charity can make that claim.
There are endless arguments for and against any form of contribution. Each of you has to decide which way you want to go, or not go. Arguing about which way or why is pointless and counter productive for everyone.
Thanks for your time.
Can't even begin to express how perfectly this post explains things. It is a donation like anything else... personally I feel it is one of the better donations that can be done. Truth is, I can go without 1 random trinket a month to afford the electric to power my quad-core folding rig. Really, people just have an issue with anything that isn't something they can feel, see, and touch, across many fields. They don't have much of a view for the future, unfortunately.
I've folded off and on for years, and before that I did the UD Agent project for awhile. Projects such as these provide the base information and knowledge that researchers use to create cures, medicines, and better understanding of how things work, which leads to many great things over time. I think the whole trend of instant gratification in society is part of why people have a myopic view toward folding
.If you can afford to donate, great, it's awesome if you do so. If you can't, don't, but please refrain from spreading propaganda and outright lies about how/why folding works without anything to back you up. The thread originally posed the question of "why did you stop folding if you already had before?", which I think boils down to one of these usually:
A) The person doesn't want to spend extra on electric/financial constraint.
B) The person forgot to reinstall after a recent format or whatnot.
C) The person heard propaganda about how folding is useless/etc. and believed the lies unfortunately, and stopped folding.
